Winter Offers Time To Turn A New Page

These days, a trip to the mailbox is an anxiously awaited excursion. The garden catalogs are arriving daily. Their pages fill our bleak days with colorful flower bouquets and baskets of homegrown produce. They invite us to dream of warm sunny days, hammocks and ice tea (or are they a subtle reminder of soon-to-be weeding, watering and pests). Whichever the case, perusing garden catalogs has become a winter ritual for most gardeners.

Aside from offering an escape from the winter blahs, garden catalogs can be a valuable tool and resource. Many provide excellent pictures of plants along with their cultural requirements. Many offer varieties that may not be found in local nurseries or garden centers. And if you’re one who propagates billions of plants from seed, most seed catalogs offer seed in bulk.

Catalogs also offer a number of their own exclusives. These are plants that have usually been bred by the company and sold as plants or seeds only by that company. An example would be Burpee’s new exclusive tomato called Bush Big Boy. This compact bush was bred by the Burpee Gardens and is featured in their ‘96 catalog.

If a plant is referred to as “new” but not exclusive, it simply means the plant is new for the year and may be available through many different companies. For example, this year’s All-American Selections winners are three flowers - a blue and white salvia named Strata and two petunias, a miniature called Fantasy Pink Morn and a true lavender double called Heavenly Lavender. These selections will be offered as seeds through many catalogs. Look for the words “new for 1996” in the front few pages of the catalog. You may also find them as plants through our local nurseries. Surprisingly, there were no AAS vegetable winners for 1996, but there are plenty of vegetables available.

To give you an idea, last week I received the Ronninger’s seed potato catalog out of Moyie Springs, Idaho. Not only do they sell what seems to be every conceivable potato in the world - 16 early varieties, 27 mid-season, 11 late and 12 fingerling varieties - but the catalog is also filled with potato history, culture, harvesting and storing information. If you thought potatoes only came red or white (skin or flesh color), the catalog proves different. Ronninger’s offers potatoes under ten color headings including blue/white, rose, red/gold and color-splashed. There are also lists that indicate potatoes that are heat-tolerant, scab-resistant and those that make the best keepers. There’s a lot of valuable, free information in this little 40-page catalog.

Not all garden catalogs come from far away. We have many local growers, like Ronninger’s, right in our own back yard. Garden City Seeds from Montana specializes in hardy seeds as does Garden Savers out of Walla Walla. Bear Creek Nursery in Northport offers new and antique fruit trees, nut trees and many native plants. The Peaceable Kingdom in Sandpoint, Homestead Horticulture in Elk and the Herb Garden in Spokane all offer a wide selection of delicious herbs. Blossoms and Bloomers of Spokane specializes in antique roses and drought-tolerant perennials. Plants of the Wild in Tekoa offers just that: native plants. Rockford Water Gardens specializes in bog plants and fish and thousands of iris can be purchased at the Iris Test Garden in St. John.

You can find catalogs that will carry just about anything you desire for the garden and probably a bit more. If you would like an extensive list of catalogs, along with their addresses, please send me a business-size, self-addressed, stamped envelope. Send it to Phyllis Stephens, c/o The Spokesman-Review, P.O. 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615.

, DataTimes MEMO: Phyllis Stephens is a horticultural consultant and landscape designer in Spokane.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Phyllis Stephens The Spokesman-Review