Seed guide

How-To
Seed guide

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Five of our favorite catalogs for lettuce seeds.
Here at the GARDEN DESIGN office, the seed catalogs have started coming in the mail. Though our town will be covered in four inches of snow tonight, it's fun to dream about the first shoots breaking through the ground in the spring. Have you thought about what you're going to plant this year? What seed and plant catalogs are your go-tos?

Can you recommend some good sources for buying seeds and offer some tips for starting plants from seed? 

—Julia Tomer, Pittsburgh 

Starting plants from seed, whether flowers, fruits, or vegetables, requires a little research. Some seeds will need an early start indoors; others can be sown directly in the garden. Most seed packets will provide you with all the information you need to have a successful season, as will the websites of many online purveyors. While I still enjoy receiving the odd seed catalogue or two by mail—Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (rareseeds.com) is a favorite—I do most of my seed shopping online.

An organic kitchen garden in Healdsburg, California, nourishes body, soul and the local community
W. Atlee Burpee & Co. launches I Can Grow, a national program to support a new, popular interest in home vegetable gardening among younger and novice gardeners. 
Grasses guru John Greenlee and landscape architect Ron Herman join forces at a Mediterranean-style estate in California
Ornamental peppers have become popular summer annuals, and surprise, surprise, they're happy indoors as well. 'Sangria' is a new introduction from PanAmerican Seed with a continuous full complement of red and purple peppers that are not hot (so they're child-friendly).
Selecting the right container for spring-blooming bulbs.

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