This morning I woke up to a thin coating of snow on the ground. Fortunately, I have a few new seed catalogues to go through as I think of warmer days ahead.
Penguin Gourds and the Seed Catalogues
I remember as a young teen ordering a package of novelty seeds called penguin gourds from a seed catalogue.
When I planted those seeds, I ended up with a huge patch of whimsical shaped gourds. Although the gourds were inedible, you could dried them out for craft projects and paint them black and white to look like standing penguins. You had to be sure to leave a nib of the vine on the end of the gourd to simulate the penguin’s beak. Some of gourds would not stand up on their own, so I added large feet made of orange felt. My idea was to sell them to make some crafting money but as it turned out I don’t believe I sold any.
I also grew luffa bath type grounds and when dry became bath sponges.
Seed Catalogues & Dream Gardens
Today in going through the seed catalogues, they have a lot more than seeds for sale.
This catalogue also sold folding tomato cages, fertilizers, cultivators, gardening tools, rain barrels, garden carts, tool totes, composters, soil testers, plant protection bags, nettings, and grow lights.
This is so much more than seeds and plants. How about a bee pollen home with nesting tubes to attract pollinators for $19.95? Or an eco-conscious pot maker which recycles old newspapers into new planting pots?
If you are ordering seeds for a dream garden, then check out the unusual types of plants such as orange cauliflower, brown and red stripped sweet peppers, egg-shaped orange squash, purple asparagus, heirloom purple colored green beans, white and red ringed beets, purple broccoli, carrots in a kaleidoscope of colors, cucumbers shaped like lemon-balls, purple-flesh potatoes, and tomatillo seeds.
There are also kohlrabi seeds for sale. I remember my dad eating kohlrabi plants with their strong turnip-like flavor. Apparently you can eat the nutrient-rich leaves on the kohlrabi plant but I think my Dad just tossed those out.
Herb Gardens from the Seed Catalogues
I am into cooking and growing herbs. Most of my life I had a small herb garden or herbs growing in small window size crocks.
I had a lemon balm mint plant in my herb garden but now see they, also, sell lemongrass for Asian cooking. Peppermint in a chocolate flavor also sounds intriguing. There is also stevia, a tropical herb, which is a natural sweeter you can grow from seeds.
Flower Seeds
Not to be missed towards the end of the catalogue were the flowers.
I grew lots of four o’clock flowers from black bead-like seeds.
Once I did a grade school class science experiment planting four o’clock seeds which had been frozen. No, none of the frozen four o’clock seeds grew.
In the catalogue, sunflower seeds are, also, sold for both their flowers and snacking seeds.
So what did the gardeners at Farmhouse Magic Blog order from the seed catalogues? Lots of lettuce and cucumber seeds.
Before ordering any plants, be sure to check out the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.
Have a Happy Garden!