“Anyone who thinks gardening begins in the spring and ends in the fall is missing the best part of the whole year; for gardening begins in January with the dream.”
– Josephine Nuese, author of The Country Garden
It’s seed catalog season, everyone.
Some long time readers may have noticed that as I have grown, so have my blog’s interests. As my child has grown up, and become more private, I too have had to share less about my mom-journey, and pivot to other interests. I seem to have channeled my “mothering” instincts into our planet’s needs, as I have been researching, writing, and advocating for native plants to support the world’s pollinators over the past few years. Bees, butterflies, moths, and the larger insect population that pollinates the world’s food supply has diminished by almost half. What started as a few native plants gifted to me by a friend, has grown into 5 books, a new brand, a line of products, and a business plan to include (hopefully) a 501C3. The world’s pollinators are dying. The numbers are sobering, and if we don’t staunch the bleeding the world will slowly become uninhabitable. It’s a lot of gloom and doom, no doubt. But what I tell my students and readers is that this is something we can easily change. Simply adding native plants to a space you inhabit can almost double the pollinator population in your area! Imagine if every single person in this country started gardening, and taking a piece of their balcony, porch, or garden, and planting some native flowers and grasses? The positive impact would be mind-blowing! We could turn things around for the better quite quickly.
Planting natives is still a niche thing, and I am not sure why. But because of this, finding plants is quite difficult. There are a few nurseries in each state that carry them, and many parks and nature conservancies run plant sales in the spring. It takes a lot of research and planning to find and attend many of these, which prevents this kind of gardening from entering the mainstream. My dream is to have a big box store take on the pollinator dilemma full force. Once millions of Americans see a tableful of milkweed, butterfly weed, and anise hyssop with a sign that says “support pollinators”, then we can see some rapid change.
Until then, it is up to you and me, dear reader. And a great, inexpensive way to start bringing unique native plants into your space is through seeds. Winter may not be a great time to do a lot of planting, but it is a great time to start PLANNING (and dreaming). I have listed below some great seed catalogs you can sign up for now, and start flipping through as we roll into deep winter with a hot cup of tea and a blanket. Get your garden journals out and start planning. Some of the companies below only have an online catalog, but most have one you can download and print, and quite a few will mail you one for free if you sign up for one.
If you need help choosing which plants are right for you (shameless plug alert), visit my book page and check out my gardening guide books. Even if you have a small space, or just a porch or rooftop garden, I have a book for you. There are wonderful natives that can thrive in small spaces and containers and I collected quite a few in my BEE NATIVE! FLOWER POT POWER book. Many urban dwellers are overlooked in the garden world, and it’s in the urban spaces we really need to bring some habitat back! I see you, apartment owner! You can help too! I promise. Even a small window box can do wonders.
Let’s get our seed game on readers. Also, come April, look for seed swaps you can attend (COVID permitting) in your area. Usually, you can join a neighborhood group on Facebook and if you asked the group about them, someone will know of one. It’s a great way to meet like-minded gardeners and get some really unique seeds.
Click on the nursery names below to visit their sites, and get signed up for goodies!
This site is a mix of cultivars, natives, grasses, and the like. You can search via region, and there are great resources and tips.
The bread and butter of native seeds, with a shoppable, intuitive site. Easy online catalog or mailable catalog.
A nice selection of heirloom seeds, unique native seeds as well as bulbs and cultivars. Very shoppable site. The catalog is online.
High Country Gardens
This nursery is all about sustainable gardening, and they have a lot of native seeds and a big milkweed selection for Monarch support.
Prairie Moon Gardens
My go-to for hard-to-find native plants and flower seeds.
Wonderful selection of native grass seeds, and shoppable via botanical name and common name.
This is a place that has flown under the radar, but shouldn’t. Natives, like their name, are hyper-local to their habitats and locations, and this seed company organizes, nurtures, and sells native seeds that are focused on those growing needs. In turn, you can really make a positive impact on your local food web.
Downloadable and mailable catalog, one of the largest native seed providers on the East Coast.
(can print a version of their online catalog)
This site is VERY rudimentary, yet a great selection including grasses and vines, which can be hard to find.
Harris Seeds
Their wild selection is limited, though they have a very large supply of cultivars, annuals, vegetables, and such. I included them in this list because they do have GREAT seed starting tools in their supplies section, like lights, trays, pellets, etc.
Jung Seeds
This source does have some good native selection, but they are mixed in with the cultivars, annuals, and herbs. So you do need to know what you are looking for or get the catalog and just browse away with a sharpie!
This nursery has an herb focus and many herbs ARE loved by pollinators. The catalog is online only.
Great wildflower section which you can specify state to state.
A great interactive site, super shoppable, a lot of digital download guides and resources. This is my new
favorite internet stop, even if I live in the Midwest- I don’t care! It’s a little gardener’s paradise. They get an A+ on website experience.
This nursery has a bit of a quirky mix of products, and their wildflower section contains cultivars, but they do have some great finds in the wilds section, and some nice native grasses.
Annie’s Annuals and Perennials
This quirky site is like the “Trader Joes” of gardening. and for my west coast readers, this seed company covers not just native plants but California native flowers–including a great selection of Yarrow to make any bee and butterfly happy.
Organizes the online feature to sun needs, grow zone, planting needs-a site after my own heart.
This site is less about flowering natives and more about permaculture, with a lot of native shrubs, ground covers, and trees for the Northwest. This can help some of you create that “keystone planting” that naturalist Doug Tallamy talks about, where one major native plant supports a big part of the food web, and then you plant other things around it to support it.
Greenwood Nursery
This nursery sells a mix of cultivars and some great wildflower seed mixes–for those of you that just want to dump a seed mix in an area and watch it flourish (no fuss!).
I was ambivalent about adding this nursery, but the selection here is just eye-popping, though they do not carry that many natives
and just a few sub-native cultivars from natives. But I like mixing it all up and this is a nice catalog that is full of gardening fun.
Lilypons
Great selection of water plants for ponds and container water features. Adding a water feature, even if it’s in a container, will support a lot of pollinators and wildlife. Water is life! Every living thing needs it.
This is another little underdog on the web, with a great selection. I bought from here before and was very pleased. It was for seeds I could not find anywhere else. They have a mix of wildflowers, wild grasses, ornamentals, and cultivars.
Happy Garden Dreaming!
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