Even without looking at my pretty new 2023 calendar with photographs of Ocean Wildlife, I could tell its January just by the amount of seed catalogs that have begun to arrive every day in the mail. The first one in the mailbox was the Thompson & Morgan catalog, complete with a lovely photo of Echinacea ‘Magic Box Mixed’ on the cover. Tempting in itself and even more so with the $5 coupon if I order more than $40 worth of seeds.
I have ordered several times from this company, but I am reluctant to do so again. Not because I have been unhappy with the seeds, but because they failed to germinate, let alone come to the blooming stage. This is no way reflects on Thompson & Morgan. They have been in business for 150 years, starting in England in 1855. They are a good company and offer a no-risk guarantee for all their seeds.
But in all good faith, I could not claim that money-back guarantee. It is my own fault the seeds did not germinate. I did not plant the seeds according to the directions; I did not start the seeds in trays. Instead, I planted them directly into the ground later in the spring and hoped for the best. The spring of 2022 was not a good year to gamble with the weather. I know you all remember the torrential rains we had in May and June. Those rains effectively drowned my seeds before they even got started.
So my resolution for 2023 is to not plant seeds again, from any company. I just do not have a place to accommodate starting seeds. I don’t have a greenhouse or other area large enough to start seeds where they are protected from the rain. Our home is small and filled with a curious and rambunctious dog, so the option of starting them in a window box is out, too. I do have a summer house that has lots of light and seems like it would make an excellent place to start seeds. But there is no heat or running water, both of which would make it more likely that the seedlings would get the heat and water they need. It’s also a bit out of the way and I never seem to remember to get over there every day to check on things. So it remains a good place to winter-over my favorite garden plants and to spend a warm summer afternoon, but not as a greenhouse. This is actually okay with me. I don’t really want a greenhouse because of all the time and energy they take to keep clean and disease- and insect-free.
But resolving not to plant seeds doesn’t mean I can’t use the catalogs to plan my 2023 gardens. The colorful photos of the new plants for the year make it easier to choose what to try to find at local nurseries. I realize a lot of the advertised new perennial and annual plants are unavailable locally or even at nurseries in the Willamette Valley and will be for a year or two longer. But they are a good starting point. I start by eliminating plants that I know will not do well in our climate, using the planting zone maps and the sun/shade keys. I can then plan colors and size by cutting out the photos of plants (keeping their captions attached) that appeal to me and place them on a large, blank sheet of paper shaped to the size of the flower bed I am designing. (I also must be realistic and accept that the photos may not be true to color once I get to the nurseries.)
This may be pretty basic, but at least it can tell me what flowers would look good together. It is a chance to mix petal and leaf shapes as well as blend colors. It’s also a fun exercise on a dreary rainy afternoon in winter. Once I have figured out what I want to try, I make a list of those plants using their botanical names as well as their common names. I also make a list of possible alternatives in case I can’t find what I want the first time around. I take these lists with me when I go plant shopping.
Most catalogs have a good selection of vegetables with new varieties that have been introduced for 2023. From past experience, local nurseries and growers are more inclined to try growing new varieties of vegetables than new perennials. And I also recommend buying locally-started vegetables rather than ones from the valley. If the local nurseries have started their own seeds, they will be better acclimated to our cool coastal climate than ones grown in Salem or Portland. Successful local nurseries also want to insure your success and so they choose varieties that do better here anyway. This is a win-win situation. You get better vegetables and they get your business.
So, although I will not be planting seeds this year, I will be planting vegetable starts that were grown in Tillamook County. I won’t even do that sort of plant shopping for several more months. Late May sounds about right... “only” six more months to wait. Hope I can make it that long.
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