More seeds.....

I am so sorry that I have neglected to post in the past couple of weeks.  I've been out of town with a garden show, and have had too many irons in the fire otherwise.  So I'll try to get back on track about seed companies this week because I have so many other topics to cover with spring being near!!!  Hooray!!!!

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds is an amazing company.  Jere Gettle started in 1998 with his first heirloom seed catalog and it has now grown to offer 1,300 varieties of vegetables, flowers and herbs.  They operate out of Mansfield, Missouri.  They have the largest collection of heirloom varieties in the United States, with many of those coming from the 19th century, including many Asian and European varieties.  They focus on preserving our agricultural and culinary heritage.

They host festivals to bring gardeners and homesteaders and natural food enthusiasts together to exchange thoughts, seeds, and much more.  I hope to go to one of their festivals someday.

Jere and his wife Emilee have branched out into other projects and publish The Heirloom Gardener magazine and have also expanded to a location in Sonoma County, California. Their most recent project is undertaking the restoration and preservation of the Wethersfield, Connecticut landmark, Comstock, Ferre & Company - the oldest continuously operating seed company in New England.



Cover of the Baker Creek catalog.



I love this company because of the large variety of vegetables that they offer - many I have never heard of or seen before!  They specialize in finding old and almost lost varieties of vegetables and producing them until they have enough product base to harvest and market the seeds.  They have tomatoes in a huge variety of colors, shapes and sizes - and I'm an absolute nut for weird tomato varieties!

One of the many tomato pages.

They have 19 or 20 pages of tomatoes with large, beautiful pictures of them!  It is sheer joy to leaf through the pages.



What a wonderful picture of some of the varieties of squash that they carry.



A few of their radish varieties.

 And not only do they carry a large and unusual array of heirloom vegetables seeds, but the pictures in their catalog are pure artistry!  The pictures are LARGE, not just tiny little pictures that you have to squint to see.  But large, beautiful, colorful pictures that display those veggies as if you would display jewels in a showroom. 

A large display of melons with Jere and his wife Emilee's lovely daughter Sasha.

Another beautiful display of melons.

Various vegetables displayed on large green leaves.



I have often thought of cutting out the pictures and framing them for my kitchen.  Here are a few more of their lovely pictures out of their catalog this year.

I love the picture with the butterfly on the flower.



I LOVE  the picture of the flower made with tomatoes!

Sasha in a bright bed of blooms.

You can contact Baker Creek seeds at 2278 Baker Creek Road, Mansfield, MO 65704.  Phone number is 417-924-8917 and you can view their catalog online at http://www.rareseeds.com/.  Find them as well on facebook and twitter.
Well, we're starting to see more sunshine in our days and the red-winged black birds have come back.  It's certain that spring isn't far away!!  We have lots of work ahead of us to make this year's garden a success.