WASHINGTON GARDENER A New Year in the Garden: Shopping for Your Plants by Mail or Online
BY KATHY JENTZ It will soon be a new gardening year, and according to your mail- box (if you’re like most gardeners), you can tell it’s the deep winter dormant season not by the chilly weather, but by the number of the PDLORUGHUJDUGHQFDWDORJVÀRRGLQJLQULJKWQRZDQGWKHDPRXQWRI HPDLOR̆ HUVLQ\RXULQER[,SHUVRQDOO\UHFHLYHDQDYHUDJHRIWZRRU three print catalogs per day starting around January 1! If you didn’t get a wide selection of gardening catalogs this year, you can go online to request some be sent to you. A good jumping R̆ SRLQWLVWRJRRQOLQHDQGUHTXHVWWREHDGGHGWRWKHPDLOLQJOLVWRI any of several hundred mailorder garden companies listed on a simple Google search. What are the advantages of mail-order or online ordering? Accord- LQJWRWKHQRZGHIXQFW0DLORUGHU*DUGHQLQJ$VVRFLDWLRQWKH\DUH
ł Greater selection of products ł The convenience of armchair shopping ł %HVWJXDUDQWHHVLQWKHEXVLQHVV ł Plants and products directly to your door
tomato vine is, go online and ask Google; or pick up the phone and FDOOWKHFRPSDQ\0RVWJDUGHQFDWDORJVKDYHDYHU\KHOSIXONQRZO - HGJHDEOHVWD̆ LQWKHLUFXVWRPHUVHUYLFHGHSDUWPHQWV ł Order early to avoid “sold out” notices. I’m still depressed over that corkscrew vine I wanted so badly last year. This time, I’ve learned P\ OHVVRQ $OWKRXJK SURFUDVWLQDWLRQ GRHV KDYH D IHZ EHQH¿WV ,I you buy online and sign-up for a company’s mail list, in late spring \RX¶OORIWHQEHVHQWVDOHDQGFOHDUDQFHSULFHR̆ HUVRQRYHUVWRFNHG LWHPV7KHVHDUHJUHDWIRU¿OOLQJLQZKHUHDSHUHQQLDOKDVQRWFRPH EDFNRUDQHZSODQWKDVMXVWQRWÀRXULVKHGDV\RX¶GKRSHG ł Keep careful records of what you’ve ordered and where you intend to place them in your garden. This will help you immensely in un- packing your plants several months from now. This also avoids the “Now where do I put this?” syndrome, as you stand mid-garden with a new plant in hand. When I do my actual ordering, it is online. That way I get a receipt in my email box, print it out, and can make notes on that as well. Two extremely helpful online sites to visit before \RXSODFH\RXURUGHUVDUH ł Dave’s Garden: The Garden Watchdog KWWS GDYHVJDUGHQ FRPJZG ²7KLVVLWHKDVFRQWDFWLQIRUPDWLRQIRUKXQGUHGVRI mail-order gardening companies and reviews from fellow garden- ers who have used these companies. ł Houzz Garden Sources Forum ZZZKRX]]FRPGLVFXVVLRQV JDUGHQVRXUFHV ²7KLVVLWHWRRNRYHUWKHJDUGHQVRXUFHVIRUXP from the old GardenWeb site. It allows you to search on posts from RWKHUJDUGHQHUVRUWRSRVW\RXURZQTXHU\0DQ\XVHLWWRORRNIRUD VSHFL¿FSODQWVRXUFHRUWRDVNDERXWDFDWDORJWKH\¶YHQHYHURUGHUHG from before for other’s opinions and experiences. Finally, plants make excellent gifts for the gardener in your life, so consider that this holiday season. Happy shopping! .DWK\ -HQW] LV HGLWRUSXEOLVKHU RI :DVKLQJWRQ *DUGHQHU PDJD - ]LQH6KHLVDOVRWKHKRVWRIWKHSRSXODU GardenDC Podcast Washington Gardener magazine is the gardening publication pub- OLVKHGVSHFL¿FDOO\IRUWKHORFDOPHWURDUHD²]RQHV²:DVKLQJWRQ '&DQGLWVVXEXUEV7KHPDJD]LQHLVZULWWHQHQWLUHO\E\ORFDODUHD
I especially like that last bullet point. Getting that box of new plants or seeds delivered to your door is like opening a gift to yourself. What DJUHDWSUHVHQWWRFRPHKRPHWRDIWHUDORQJGD\DWWKHṘ FH$QGQR need to haul heavy plants home on the metro or bus. One of the best things about getting mail-order garden catalogs or VXU¿QJWKHLUZHEVLWHVLV\RXFDQGRLWIURPWKHZDUPFRPIRUWRI\RXU RZQ KRPH DW DQ\ WLPH <RX DUH DEOH WR VLW GRZQ DQG SORW RXW \RXU JDUGHQSODQRQSDSHUEHIRUHEX\LQJ<RXFDQGUHDPELJDWWKLVSRLQW and transport yourself to springtime with these luscious photos and detailed plant descriptions. “Garden catalogs let you take a mental vacation from the frigid days of winter, and they serve as helpful planning tools because they show you the newest plants and products for your garden,” said Roberta 6LPSVRQ'ROEHDUHIRUPHUSUHVLGHQWRIWKH0DLORUGHU*DUGHQLQJ$V - VRFLDWLRQ 0*$ ³*DUGHQLQJFDWDORJVDQGZHEVLWHVDUHDJUHDWZD\WR JHWDMXPSVWDUWRQWKHJDUGHQLQJVHDVRQ0DQ\RIWKHPDOVRSURYLGH helpful information for both new and long-time gardeners.” Just how popular are mail-order garden products? Americans VSHQGELOOLRQDQQXDOO\RQPDLORUGHUSODQWVEXOEVVHHGVJDUGHQ tools, and garden supplies. If you’re planning to order from a mail-or- der gardening catalog or gardening website, you’re in good company. 0RUHWKDQPLOOLRQ$PHULFDQKRXVHKROGVDUHH[SHFWHGWRSODFHRU - ders with mail-order garden catalogs and websites this year, spending DQDYHUDJHRISHUKRXVHKROG :KHQ,VHWWOHLQWRSHUXVHWKLV\HDU¶VFDWDORJR̆ HULQJV,OLNHWRKDYH a large scratchpad, Post-its, and pens nearby to sketch out garden bed ideas and keep track of what I want from each catalog. Here are some DGGLWLRQDOPDLORUGHUJDUGHQLQJVXJJHVWLRQV ł &KRRVH SODQWV DSSURSULDWH WR WKH '& DUHD WKLV JHQHUDOO\ PHDQV 86'$=RQH/XFNLO\IRUXVWKDWLVDYHU\EURDGUDQJHRISODQWV 0RVWRIZKDWZHFDQQRWKDYHLQWKLVDUHDDUHWURSLFDOV,I\RXPXVW KDYHDFHUWDLQVSHFLPHQWKDWLV=RQHRUKLJKHU\RXFDQJURZLWDV a summer annual and then try to keep it overwintered in a heated greenhouse. ł Check out the helpful glossary of terms often included and read the descriptions carefully. If you don’t know what an “indeterminate”
50—PATHWAYS—Winter 25-26
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