Seed Catalogs

Seed catalogs keep arriving in my mailbox. The newest one, today, came from a company from which I had bought tomato seeds last year and - on a whim - a package of pepper seeds: Medusa. At the end of the season, just as freezing weather was threatening, I had one tiny pot of 3 (tiny) Medusas left, so I brought it indoors. They're still alive, still doing well. In fact, I have already harvested quite a crop of seeds from these small plants and am eager to see, next spring, what they will produce.

"I Know I'm Supposed to Know . . "

Every gardener, I am certain, has these plant encounters -- in a nursery, a friend's garden or a public garden: "I know I am supposed to know what this is, but what is it?"

I had such a moment yesterday, in one of my favorite nurseries, where I had gone to buy a few more Blue Sages for one of my borders. I saw this small group of black plants, with tiny purple flowers and even though I knew I had seen it before and knew what it was . . ., I could not come up with a name!

This morning, taking them out of their 4" pots and placing them in bigger ones, I knew: Capsicum, pepper! But is it 'black pearl'? Probably. Regardless, it's a beautiful plant and I'm glad I bought 3 of them. Together with the Blue Sages and a few other plants, a flat of 18 was $14. Well worth it, wouldn't you say?

As The Snow Melts . . .

. . . I’m playing with a spring garden lay-out and packets of seeds. After vowing to leave tomatoes well enough alone this year, I’ve got four different varieties to try, including “Black from Tula” (Tula International, which has nothing to do with tomatoes or gardening, is one of my clients). I’m also going to give a pepper named “Medusa” a try this year. All these from a source in Florida. From California, I have several herb seeds (e.g. a basil called ‘Profumo di Genova’), ‘Monet’s Garden Mesclun with a mouth-watering image on the packet, and old-fashioned flowers, including ‘Love in a Mist” – all from Renee’s Garden. From my own 2009 garden I harvested seeds of the Hyacinth bean vine, a spectacular dill that was a gift from Cheryle Maddox, and Monarda, Cleome, Baptisia and more. No matter how I approach this, it seems to me I need more space. Solution: more containers!