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Dream Time: The Plant Catalogs Are Here!

© Barbara M. Martin

"THE SEED CATALOG 1999" came this week.

On the cover: 'Primrose Carousel', a pale yellow foxglove billed (of course) as an "exquisite cottage garden plant". Next I saw Sweet William 'Sooty' - oooooh! Fragrant blooms of "deepest maroon-chocolate on red stems" and metallic mahogany foliage. Who knew red stems could sound so good!

But that's not all. Not by a long shot. Next came "something different for the cottage or perennial garden" a spurless aquilegia in pink and purple shades. And then the geranium 'Splish Splash' which is gorgeous in the pictures and would be a superb echo for the viola 'Freckles' I already have.

And finally, a bizarre little viola called 'Rodney Davey' whose claim to fame is longer and pointier than normal, cream variegated leaves rather than its tiny (I reckon this means insignificant) white flowers - a perfect echo for my unnamed little gold speckled ivy. But I wonder if it's fragrant?

And then there is a lovely, no, magical photo of a perennial garden in spring.

That's all I noticed on the first quick flip through except for a few foliage type plants and some annuals and a couple of interesting looking vine things and well.... I'm not done reading it yet. I'll still be reading it next June, no doubt!

I think it is a bit presumptuous of Thompson and Morgan (800-274-7333) to call their catalog THE SEED CATALOG 1999. As though there is no competition! Let's be serious: that's just the 1999 catalog that happened to be on top of the pile.

Frankly, the first entries for the first round of the 1999 battle of the catalogs are the Lobelia 'Deep Rose' from Burpee (800-333-5808), along with their exclusive 'Purple Rain' pansy - fragrant, spreading and as hardy as a viola! Who could resist? Not me, obviously. And these are just from the Fall 1998 catalog.

But I haven't actually ordered anything yet. That would be cheating.

Second-guessing catalog orders is an art. Perhaps on closer scrutiny those 'Sooty'Sweet William blooms will look less sweet and rather more hairy. (They do.) Or the lovely garden photo I liked so much and planned to emulate a bit turns out to be a pipe dream. (That's when I realize I've confused my yard with some place in England.) Or the allure of 'Palisandra' coleus pales when I remember that velvety near-black foliage disappears into the black hole of the dark yew backdrop in my shade garden.