We have had a very easy winter this year (knocks on wood). It feels like spring over here even though it’s only the start of February & all of this nice weather has me itching to start gardening outdoors again. Let’s be real, I started getting the outdoor gardening itch in December! So I fed my garden needs by ordering a bunch of free plant & seed catalogs. There are a ton of them out there. While I’m not complaining, it was a little difficult trying to figure out which ones I should order & it did get a little overwhelming filling out so many order forms (too many free things to order, what a problem to have!). I figured it would be helpful to others if I made a short little review of the 8 catalogs that I have received so far. Let’s get to it then, here is my review of plant & seed catalogs.
Live Plant Catalogs Reviews
David Austin Roses – Handbook of Roses 2020 (USA edition)
The granddaddy of them all as far as rose catalogs are concerned is the best way that I can describe the David Austin rose catalog. I look forward to getting this in the mail every year & I don’t even have any David Austin roses yet (soon, soon). This catalog is just stunning. Page after page of beautiful pictures of roses with super informative descriptions makes this a must-have in my opinion. It is really user-friendly as well because it categorizes the roses by type, functions & colors. Do you want to compare pink climbing roses? Turn to the pink climber/rambler section. Yellow tree roses? There’s a section for that too. How about the best roses for 10 feet walls? They have a list for that. David Austin’s catalog also contains a plethora of rose care advice as well, so make sure to save it for future reference. Once you receive this in the mail, sit down to thumb through it with a cup of tea like I did. It’s a real treat. I’d like one of every rose this catalog offers, thanks.
Gilbert H. Wild and Son – 2020 Spring Catalog
Budget flower lovers look no further than the Gilbert H. Wild and Son catalog. This one is full of beautiful & unusual flower plants for less than half of what you would pay in person. It also contains a beefy section of hostas & grasses. The catalog is organized by plant type & each listed plant contains an informative description & photo. Their deals are what really stand out to me because they have a whole section of Buy 1 Get 1 Free plants with no restrictions. Your girl loves a good deal over here & there are some real steals in that section. This catalog reminds me of all the flowers that I have yet to try. *sighs dramatically*
White Flower Farm – Spring 2020 Garden Book
As their name indicates, the While Flower Farm catalog consists of mostly flowers. It also contains some fruits, veggies, trees, shrubs & gardening supplies, but flower power is the name of the game here. This is the catalog for you if you are flower crazy like I am. It is also chockful of helpful information to assist you with your plant buying journey. I particularly like how they categorized the catalog with sections for hard to find plants, moon gardens, alphabetical listings, etc. This makes the catalog very user-friendly. The prices are certainly less than what you would pay in person at a garden center or big box store, but depending on the plant, the price difference isn’t a lot.
Live Plant & Seed Catalogs Reviews
Burpee – 2020 & Digital Catalog
If there’s a plant that you want then the Burpee catalog probably has it. That was my main takeaway from the robust plant & seed catalog. No surprise here considering how dominant Burpee is in the gardening industry. It contains an avalanche of veggies (over half of the catalog), fruits, herbs, annuals, perennials & gardening supplies. For many of the plants, you can choose between seeds or live plants. The prices are good too, in fact, some of the prices are fantastic, like 1000 bean seeds for $3.95 fantastic! Their up-sale game is strong with a lot of pages containing related gardening supplies that you might be interested in buying. The catalog also contains a large Mix & Match section where you can purchase any 3 plants for $19.95. Clever little section indeed.
Burgess Seed & Plant Co. – Spring 2020 Garden Catalog & Digital Catalog
Hello, heavily reduced prices plants catalog! 9-12” arborvitaes for 3/$11.99 say you, front page? Free gifts with every order too? Well, well, well, Burgess Seed & Plant Co. sure knows how to entice me. This catalog has a wide variety of plants like trees, shrubs, flowers, fruits, nuts, vegetables, etc. The pictures are large & the prices are small. What more could you ask of a plant & seed catalog? Oh yeah, they also have a Buy 1 & Add 1 more for $0.01 section, along with sales on seemingly every page. Don’t mind me as I dog-ear this catalog like no one’s business.
Farmer Seed and Nursery – Spring 2020 & Digital Catalog
We’ve got another great budget-friendly catalog over here with Farmer Seed and Nursery. They also boast of having free gifts & Buy 1 & Add 1 more for $0.01 plants. The catalog contains trees, shrubs, fruits, veggies, perennials & bulbs, many of which are steeply discounted especially if you buy in multiples. It’s another catalog that contains large colorful pictures of their plants. On a personal note, they have Joseph’s Coat Rose, which has been on my wishlist for quite some time now, for $15.99. My need for this rose has just intensified.
Seed Catalogs Reviews
Annie’s Heirloom Seeds – 2020 Heirloom Seed Catalog & Digital Catalog
Welcome to the wonderful world of growing by seed with Annie’s Heirloom Seeds catalog. All of the seeds are heirloom, at least 50 years old & none of them have been treated with chemicals, plus they are certified organic. That’s pretty impressive. This catalog is mostly fruits, veggies & herbs with not as many pictures as it’s competitors. However, what it lacks in images it makes up for in gardening information. There are a lot of helpful gardening hints like how to start seeds & when to start them. Their flower section also includes a list of flowers & herbs that repel pests. I’m definitely going to keep this catalog around for that information alone. The prices are good too, you will definitely get a more bang for your buck here.
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds –2020
Out of all of the catalogs that I received, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds was my favorite. This catalog is large & in charge. Big pictures, informative descriptions, great prices & page after page of plants that I didn’t even know existed is the best way to describe this catalog to you. Veggies, fruits, herbs & flowers galore fill the pages. I love large, colorful & weird plants. Some people like to keep their gardens limited to a few select colors, whereas I like to go the Christmas in Vegas approach. I want all of the colors, the bigger the better! That’s what this catalog represents to me. You’ll find multi-colored tomatoes, 1500-year-old beans, 3-foot long kale, stained glass looking corn, etc in here. The prices are very good too. This is the seed catalog of my dreams, people.
Disclaimer: As with all things online shopping, make sure to do your research before buying, especially from companies that you aren’t familiar with yourself.
I’m planning on buying a bunch of flower seeds this year. I always plant a ton of marigolds, petunias, salvias, impatiens & celosias every year, but I’ve always bought them as live plants in the spring. I think it would be fun to grow them all from seed this year. Fun for me & fun for my pocketbook! I am in awe of some of the flower seed varieties that I saw in these catalogs. The size & colors made my jaw drop straight to the ground. I am also planning on growing a few fruits & veggies from seed, especially tomatoes, lettuce & pumpkins.
I’ve never started outdoor plants from seed before, so this will be a fun experiment for me. I recently started a hydroponic system, read my AeroGarden reviews & tutorials here, so I do have a rather strong indoor grow light situation going on. I could seed start right next to my AeroGarden! I am also interested in winter sowing, due solely to this video from Garden Answer. It looks like such a cheap & easy way to get a headstart on spring. Stay tuned because I’m about to go on a seed adventure. I’ll also make sure to add to this list whenever I get a new catalog, so bookmark this page if you’re into that kind of thing. Happy Gardening!
The Plantiful Gardener 