Seeds

Garden Supply Guide

Seeds of Joy: What Your Garden Needs

Even more than the birdsong and the tentative blooms of early spring, you know the winter is past when seed catalogs begin piling up in your mailbox. However, seed catalogs can sometimes cause endless confusion because there are so many options that you don�t know which will be best for your garden. There are numerous factors such as soil type, weather and sunlight to take into account before you decide which seeds are suitable.

When it comes to choosing seeds for flowering plants, you have to choose between annuals, biennials or perennials. As the terms indicate, annuals complete their life cycle in one growing season. So if their seeds are planted in spring, the plants bloom in spring itself. Sunflowers are a good example of annuals. Similarly, a biennial plant takes two seasons to attain complete maturity Foxgloves, for instance, are biennials. Finally, perennials grow season after season without having to be replanted. In winter, they lie dormant and grow back in spring. Daylilies are good examples of perennials.

As you can see, therefore, you must first choose what kind of flowering plant you want. Once you choose the seeds on that basis, you will have to see if the weather conditions in your region are conducive to your chosen plants. So you have to know all about which growing or hardiness zone you live in. Growing zones are based on average minimum temperatures that a zone experiences. If your seed catalog is a comprehensive one, it ought to include a growing zone map, making it easy for you to identify your zone. Obviously, growing zones with higher numbers are located in warmer areas, while growing zones with lower numbers experience lower temperatures. So if a plant is listed as suitable for zones 4-7 it will obviously not survive the colder temperatures of zone 3 or the high heat of zone 9.

So for best results, choose seeds that will sprout in the weather conditions in your region. Then you also have to take into account the fact that some seedlings can be safely transplanted but some do not transplant that easily. It is no good buying the wrong type of seeds and then blaming the supplier for the failure of your garden. Buy your seeds from a well-known company and do not buy leftover stocks. Follow planting instructions to the letter, and you will soon be known as a green fingers par excellence.

Remember that you can always rely on your local garden center or nursery for advice on when and how to buy which seeds. While a lot of people do their seed-buying online nowadays, you can also try out a few of the varieties at the local supplier�s. That way, you can actually take physical stock of what you are buying.

Finally, though garden centers these days often sell plants ready fro planting rather than just seeds, it is still infinitely more satisfying to raise the plants from seeds yourself!