Native Plants in Canada and Nurseries that Carry Them

Time to open my first box of new plants this year! :D

For those who would like to buy native plants for your own garden, check out the USDA site, which will show you what regions a given plant species is native to. I use it often when I find a species I’m curious about and have added many plants to my personal wishlist this way. Just use the “basic search” on the right. Keep in mind though that the spelling of the species name has to be exact or no results will come up. Sometimes there’s disagreement on whether a species name ends in “us” “a” “is” or “um” so I sometimes just search for the genus name and go through the list that comes up to find the species.

These are the places I order from (I am in Ontario, but many of them ship elsewhere in Canada):

ALCLA Native Plants - First time ordering! They’re in Alberta but will ship elsewhere and carry a wide selection of plants, a number of which include Ontario in their natural range as well as Alberta, and some of which I haven’t found available anywhere else.

Bamboo Plants - They’re in Ontario but will ship elsewhere. They do not specialize in native plants but they do carry a number, including things like squashberry (Viburnum edule), which is very difficult to find anywhere else.

Botanus - They’re in British Columbia but will ship elsewhere. They do not specialize in native plants but they carry a few species and the ones I got were healthy. Worth giving a try.

Connon Nursery - They don’t ship, but they do have several locations in Ontario and possibly elsewhere. They don’t specialize in native plants but they do carry a large number of them. Definitely worth checking out if you drive or can get a ride.

Hidden Habitat - They don’t ship anymore, but do local delivery in their area of Ontario and offer pickups. They’re about an hour and 45 minutes away from Toronto so if you live in the GTA and can get a ride, it would be worth checking out. They have witch’s hobblebush (Viburnum lantanoides) and partridgeberry (Mitchella repens), which are hard to find anywhere else.

Hortico - First time ordering! They ship across Canada as far as I know. They don’t specialize in native plants but have a huge selection, including some that are hard to find elsewhere, such as squirrel corn (Dicentra canadensis) and fairy spuds (Claytonia virginica).

Lacewing - First time ordering! Located in the GTA. They don’t ship, sadly but if you live close to the GTA maybe you can get a ride over. So far they’re the only nursery I’ve been able to find that carries horseflyweed (Baptisia tinctoria).

Native Plants in Claremont - They only ship in multiples of 6 (and I think only in Ontario) and the plant selection they offer for that isn’t huge (but definitely worth looking at if you’re just starting out). However, their location isn’t terribly far from Toronto, so if you can get a ride out there, the selection is much wider and includes some hard to find species.

Native Plant Nurseries - First time ordering! They’ll deliver within the GTA with a minimum order between $50 and $75 (not hard to reach if you’re really trying to fill a space) and a delivery fee as well. It’s possibly less if you’re closer to their location. Very nice selection and some hard to find species such as white lettuce (Nabalus alba) and purple prairie clover (Dalea purpurea).

North American Native Plant Society - First time ordering! They have a few locations and each location as I understand it has a single day to pick up in the spring. If you become a member you can pre-order plants that you pick up that day as well. They have a large number of species, some which are very hard to find, and if you become a member they offer seed exchanges.

Nutcracker Nursery - They’re in Quebec but ship elsewhere. They carry trees and bushes which they ship bare root wrapped in clay and paper for moisture. They don’t specialize in native plants, but carry a number and are thus far the only nursery I know of that carries native burning bush (Euonymus atropurpureus). Your standard burning bush (Euonymus alatus) found in most garden centres is not native and is invasive in some areas, which makes getting my hands on E. atropurpureus a priority for me, but sadly it’s not available yet this year. Hopefully soon though!

Ontario Native Plants - They only ship in Ontario, and only in multiples of 4. They have a nice selection and every year they try out a new and hard to find species. If you’re looking for appearance and aren’t specializing in edibility, I would highly recommend their new rock harlequin (Corydalis sempervirens).

Origin Native Plants - First time ordering! They’re in Ontario, not sure if they ship elsewhere. I think their minimum is 10 plants. They have a number of hard to find species, including Canada lily (Lilium canadense), wild yam (Dioscorea villosa/quaternata), and wild basil (Clinopodium vulgare).

Paramount Nursery - They have locations in Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal, so if you live close to any of these areas you can get a free delivery with a $100 minimum order. They don’t specialize in native plants but carry a large number, including Canada buffalo berry (Shepherdia canadensis), and bog rosemary (Andromeda polifolia).

Phoenix Perennials - They’re in British Columbia but ship Canada-wide as far as I know. They don’t specialize in native plants but have a large number, including some extremely hard to find species such as green dragon (Arisaema dracontium). They ship potted plants that they feel have grown hardy enough to survive a long trip, but there’s a greater chance of plant damage.

Prairie Originals - They’re in Manitoba and will ship elsewhere but not every year (sadly not this year). They specialize in plants native to Manitoba but many of these are native to Ontario as well. They carry a wide selection, and yes that includes some that are hard to find anywhere else.

The Pond Experts - First time ordering! They ship Canada-wide as far as I know. They don’t specialize in native plants but carry some native species, several of which are very difficult to find elsewhere, such as pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata) and duck potato (Sagittaria latifolia). As many of the plants they carry are marginal plants rather than floating ones, you don’t need a pond for them, just make sure the area you put them in has poor drainage and isn’t shielded from rain. And water them extra when watering your garden. If possible, put them next to the downspout of the eavestrough.

Wild About Flowers - They’re in Alberta but ship Canada-wide as far as I know. They specialize in plants native to Alberta but many of these are native to Ontario as well. Their minimum is 8 plugs, and they’re also teamed up with Wright Nursery which is more trees and bushes and requires a minimum of 8 plugs as well.

For shipped plants, please don’t hold it against the nursery if some of them don’t make it through the journey. They’re all trying their best to make sure you get plants that will survive in your garden:

Bare root bushes are easier to stack in a long box which reduces chance of damage. It’s also very easy to dig a hole to plant them in and there’s no chance of them being root-bound. If, however, they run out of moisture on the way, they might not make it. Alternatively, being packed in clay and paper they might develop mould, which will kill them.

Plugs are extremely easy to plant, especially if you want to plant in a small space. They’re young that being mildly root bound won’t be a huge problem. They’re unlikely to be damaged in transit. However, because they’re so young and in such a small amount of soil, they can run out of moisture quickly, or perish without the sunlight. It’s also easier to mix up the species. For example, young goldenrods and asters can look very similar.

Potted plants have begun to establish themselves and so are much better able to handle a couple days without water or a week without sunlight. However, there’s a non-zero chance they’ll be extremely root-bound, which may kill them even after you’ve planted them. And it’s easier for them to get damaged in transit.

As you can see, there are benefits and drawbacks to each method, and this is reason some nurseries won’t ship live plants at all. I for one, not having a car, am grateful for those that do.

Now...to find out what’s in my box (from Hortico)!

Seed Catalogue Review of the Year; 9th Annual!

It's garden planning and seed buying season, and I'm reviewing the catalogues for the 9th time! Time really does fly when you are having fun. The closure of The Cottage Gardener contributes to my sense that there's a little pulling back and trimming the excess going on this year, with fewer things being listed as new. Still, there is lots of fabulous stuff out there, new and old. Trends - I do see include an awful lot of people listing Garden and French sorrels (YAY GET SOME!). Ground cherries including Golden Berry continue to gather some speed. There are a number of (mostly mustard) greens advertised as having wasabi-like flavours. Purple amaranth is very "in"; purple and "odd" coloured vegetables in general, I would say. I'm seeing a lot of new varieties of lettuce. As ever, don't forget to check Seeds of Diversity's  Seed Catalogue Index if you are looking for something specific (and, in fact, if you are just browsing too). A'Bunadh Seeds: Situated an hour from Edmonton, they supply seeds for short (zone 2a) Alberta seasons; 90 to 110 days. They have a surprisingly large and unusual collection! I like the looks of Pisarecka Zlutoluske yellow bean, Osgoode rutabaga, Feuer Kugel beets, and plenty of carrots. Lots of peas including Bill Jump, Hungarian Shelling, Mr Big, Top Pod, Knight, and more. An amazing selection of corn - I was going to say for so far north, but really, for anywhere - and numerous squash too, including locally adapted Lower Salmon River and Cindy Souper. In addition to vegetable seeds they have some perennial fruit seeds, including Nanking cherry and Evans cherry. They have a large selection of rare potatoes, but they are not seed grade. Garlic, comfrey, and six kinds of Jerusalem artichokes all sold for spring planting. AgroHaitai: The only Canadian source I know of for mostly Asian vegetables; they have a good reputation but most of their offerings are F1 hybrids. Interesting things I see include Yellow Stem Chinese celery, Dynasty Pak Choy (as little as 20 days to maturity!), Indian Mini bitter gourd (f1), Zou Sing luffa (f1, but they say not day-length sensitive), Black Champion eggplant, and You Fong Wong yardlong bean. Annapolis Seeds: Now up to 600 varieties, all of which they grow or contract themselves. New things for this year include Scarlet Frills mustard (really gorgeous!), Little Leaf pickling cucumber (hard to find and recommended), Rainbow Lacinato kale, a mix of Sea Buckthorn seeds probably best suited to breeders, Black Beauty tomato, Lower Salmon River squash, Shosaku gobo (burdock), Japanese White eggplant, and Midnight Lightning zucchini. Lebanese Metki cucumber is actually a melon, but used as a cucumber. Burt's Greenhouses: Mostly a nursery with ornamentals, Burt's also sells a good range of sweet potato slips. We got our Toka Toka Gold, Owairaka, and Purple sweet potatoes from them. They also have Cuban, Georgia Jet, and Tainung 65. Seems like a smaller selection than last year, but still good prices and the ability to buy in volume. The Cottage Gardener: I was sad to discover that this excellent source of seeds is no more. They posted on Facebook:

"We are closing our (virtual) doors.

After much thought, many discussions and with definitely mixed feelings, we have made the difficult decision to close down The Cottage Gardener retail business. Our site will  stop taking orders on September 14th, 2018. We remain absolutely passionate and committed to preserving rare and endangered heirloom seeds, but after 22 years of the daily grind of running a retail business we are ready to explore new ways of pursuing this. Passing on our seed saving knowledge will be an integral part of our future plans. Many of our customers have been with us through our whole journey, while others have just recently discovered us - we thank all of you for your support in helping us do our bit to save genetic biodiversity. We'll let you know our future plans as they unfold - we may even pop up at a seed show or two  :). " Eagle Creek Seed Potatoes: For once I am not even going to mention varieties. Shipping costs for potatoes are brutal, but if you want to grow unusual seed potatoes, this is THE place to look and such is life. There is a very impressive selection and 6 mixed packages for the indecisive. Reliable and recommended. Many of our favourite potatoes first came from Eagle Creek. Edible Antiques: Grown in Prince Edward county. Right off bat I see several classic native varieties being offered; Algonquin pumpkins, and Skunk and Deseronto Potato beans. Also Aladdin's Lamp cherry tomatoes, Liebenspfel and Lively Sweet Italian Orange peppers, and Eagle Pass okra. Greta's Organic Gardens: This Ottawa seed-house has numerous interesting and unusual varieties. New this year are the lovely Red Savonese onion, Red Welsh bunching onion, Turnip Rooted chervil, Dishpan Cusha squash, Datterino tomato - combining compactness with indeterminacy, a hard combo to find - Everona tomatillo, and Stavros Greek pepper. There is an impressive number of tobacco varieties, if that's your bag. A large and very good selection overall. A good selection of watermelons includes Bozeman and Early Canada (which did very well for us when we grew it). Greta has an impressive array of unusual eggplants and 6 kinds of okra. Harmonic Herbs: They specialize in medicinal herbs, and also have a small collection of grains and flowers. Being another Alberta company they have short season vegetables including their own earliest Norwesterlee tomato, Blush tomato, Purple Peacock broccoli, Broccoli Raab (rapini), and Palla Rossa radicchio, Hawthorn Farm: Catalogue looks bigger and better than ever. I notice they now have a lot of seeds in bulk, so market gardeners and farmers take note. Sweet Reba acorn and Honeynut butternut squashes are Cornell releases. If you want to play around though, try the Lofthouse Landrace moschata squash. There are loads of tomatoes and lettuces. Best selection of zucchini around, including tried and true for us Tatume, Dark Green, Mutabile, and Ronde de Nice. Success PMR Straightneck looks like it might make a good substitute for the maddeningly unproductive Golden. Misato Rose winter radish looks lovely, as does Jing Orange okra. Get some Sorrel for wonderful spring greens. Only source I know for Iowne's True Blue, a local heritage corn. Glass Gem on the other hand is a wildly popular new (OP) variety and they have that too. I want to try April Green cabbage, so called for excellent storage properties. Chieftan is a long-time favourite Savoy. Heritage Harvest Seed: A great selection of heirloom seeds, grown in Manitoba. If they can make it there, they can make it here! I have found a number of our best varieties here, including Gnadenfeld melon, January King cabbage, and a lot of our favourite peas. There are stupendous numbers of beans of every type here, including Auntie Wilder, Bis (Polish), Chevrier Verte, Drew's Dandy, Fort Portal Jade, and Ice (Crystal White Wax). I could go on and on, so I will just note they have large selections of beets, carrots, corn, cucumbers, grains, lettuce, melons, squash... they are the only Canadian source I know of for the rare and picky to grow but really delicious Amish Bottle onion. Hope Seeds: This Nova Scotian company specializes in east-coast heirlooms including Marie Dugas Canadian Wild Goose, Goose Gullet, and Caribee beans; Ashworth corn; and Joan rutabaga. They have a good selection of Jerusalem artichokes and potatoes - Onaway, Bridget and Fianna are new names to me and sound quite interesting. They do have a few varieties of garlic available for spring planting, if you failed to get yours in during the fall.  Ferme Tournesol: Not yet updated for 2019. Not just seed producers, but vegetable breeders as well. Their own seeds include Arc-en-ciel tatsoi, Big Fat Jalapeño pepper, Winter Green brassica mix, and Carrot Bomb hot pepper. You can get Mosaic Mix beans, which is a mixture of all their breeding lines of bush beans - sounds like a lot of fun. They have their own landrace cucumber, as well as Dragon Egg Croatian cucumber. Sugar Magnolia snap pea and Early Moonbeam watermelon can be hard to find. Ho Chi Minh yellow cayenne, Georgia Flame, and Gord's Cherry Bomb, and Lemon Drop are some other unusual hot peppers they list. Jardins de l'Écoumène: Site is in French. New offerings (nouveautés) include Brad's Atomic cherry tomato, Gogosar Bulgarian pepper, Agate edemame (soybean), concombre d'Antilles (West Indian gherkin), Tam Jalapeño and Thai hot peppers, and the oddly-named but tasty sounding Vegetarian hot peppers, also from the French Caribbean. They also have Toraji balloon flower, which most North Americans do not realize is a vegetable in addition to being a lovely garden perennial. At the moment there are a number of tomatoes, as well as Belle Isle cress and Iroquois White corn on sale at less than half price. Mapple Farm: As ever, this is one of the few places to find sweet potato slips, and they have a good selection including best northern grower Georgia Jet, and the popular Beauregard. New (at least to my notice) are White Travis and Superior. Ginseng Red is recommended for French frying. They are, so far as I know, the only source of Ken Allen's book on growing sweet potatoes in the north, and if you want to have any success at growing them, the $25 is well worth spending. They have a small collection of other carefully chosen items including Chinese Artichokes (crosnes; stachys affinis). Squash are a specialty, including Fisher's acorn (unique to them), Golden Hubbard, Honey Boat delicata, and the superb Gill's Golden Pippin acorn. Latah tomato and Parade cucumber are ideal for cooler climates. Sweet Orange II tomato is noted as new, but their Mystery Keeper tomato is tried and true. Matchbox Garden Seed Co: Another Ontario company growing most of their own seed! Selection is not huge, and leans more to the best standards than the rare and exotic. Varieties are not marked as new so I will just mention a few that look good to me. Trionfo Violetto is an excellent purple pole bean. Long Purple Italian eggplant is a bit unusual. Astro arugula is recommended, Tadorna leeks look lovely. There are just 3 beets, but the best varieties in 3 colours. Baquieu and Gold Rush lettuces look promising. I haven't seen Capriglio Red and Capriglio Yellow peppers anywhere else. Naramata Seed Company: Items not marked as new. Still, some eye-catching listings including Borlotto Lamon bean, Grampa Brown's Indian popcorn, Sand Mountain sorghum, Tante Alice cucumber, Wasabina mustard, and Baladi romaine lettuce from Syria. May Queen is a favourite lettuce for us. They have the excellent and hard-to-find Small Shining Light and Sweet Siberian watermelons. Many interesting hot peppers including a white Bolivian, Aribibi Gusano. Greek Sweet Red moschata squash sounds very intriguing. San Juanito tomatillo looks promising. Lots of tomatoes in every size and colour. Norton Naturals: Not a seed company; they sell a selection of roots, mostly native but also crosnes, edible daylilies, and double Tiger lilies. Native plants include: Arrowhead, Camas (Quamash), Groundnuts, Hog Peanuts, 3 different Jerusalem artichokes, Spring Beauty, Meadow Garlic, and Ramps (Wild Leeks). In my experience, if you do not have the necessary fungus in the soil those last will not grow. Worth trying if you have a typical Ontario woodlot though. They sell Prairie Turnip as seeds - this is actually a tap-rooted legume, and it looks like it would also make an excellent ornamental. This was out of stock last year but this year they have it. They ship twice a year - next up in April. OSC (Ontario Seed Company): A good source for open-pollinated classics at reasonable prices but most of their new offerings lean towards F1 hybrids. I'm noting that in particular most of their corn is treated, as far as I can tell with the notorious bee-killing neonicotinoids, so DO NOT GROW. (If you are a large enough grower you can request untreated seed.) All other seeds are not treated.  They do not always identify F1 hybrids so do some research before you order. New this year is "OSC Seeds International line" - some of them varieties they've had for a while, but a more cosmopolitan group than their usual. It includes Red Garnett amaranth, Wild Roquette, German Lutz beet, Green Punjab eggplant, Osaka Purple mustard, Early Purple Sprouting broccoli, Red Fire orach, and Fire Candle radish. Potager Ornemental de Catherine: Site is in French. New offerings include Thai Lavender Frog Egg (!) eggplant, Kikuza moschata squash (cute!), Golden Child and Monte Gusto yellow wax beans, Oda pepper, Malaga (purple!) radish, and Allu Jola popping sorghum. In short, a place with some very unusual and exciting varieties. Prairie Garden Seeds: The site is updated for 2019, but the new offerings aren't labelled as such and this list doesn't change a lot from year to year. However, they are the go-to source for many Canadian heirloom vegetables, and are particularly strong in tomatoes and beans, but also in grains - if you want small amounts of many historic Canadian wheats, or indeed all kinds of grains from all over the world, check here. If you want open-pollinated, untreated corn this is probably the place. Prices are very reasonable and amounts generous, but you cannot order online - you must send them an order form and a cheque. It's been well worth the trouble in my experience. I can't pick out varieties to mention - they have 133 kinds of beans, 42 different peas - a good list of peas is hard to find - 45 other pulses and legumes, and then there's everything else - lots of it - Jim specialized in Canadian-bred tomatoes for instance.  Richter's Herbs: says the herb of the year is agastache, which is actually a species of plant with numerous varieties in cultivation.As ever, they have the largest and most complete list of herbs I have seen anywhere. Seeds abound but they also have many things available as plants, including a whole lot of hops, 4 kinds of sea buckthorn,  16 types of garlic (not shipped until fall but order early, they say), and 10 kinds of figs. Not an edible in spite of the name, but I see they have Chocolate Cosmos seeds (at $10 per packet! Not cheap, but his used to be only available as a very hard-to-find clone and seeds will be rare for a while yet). I'm always banging on about Sorrel in the spring; grow your own Blonde de Lyon garden sorrel. In the realm of vegetable seeds: they have Sweet Purple and Jersey Giant asparagus; Hopi Blue, True Gold, and Spectrum Red Husk corn; the somewhat hard-to-find but excellent Muncher cucumber; Jicama, if you are prepared to baby it; Numane Japanese pickling melon; Molokhia (an Egyptian leafy green); and Lady Godiva pumpkin (grown for the "naked" seeds). Salt Spring Seeds: Featured items this year include Golden Giant amaranth - it looks both beautiful and productive - Spello chick pea, Purple fava bean, Purple Peacock pole bean (we've grown it and can recommend it), Abundant (a more vigorous yet slow-bolting form of) Bloomsdale spinach, phacelia tanecetifolia green manure, and Summer pea, said to be quite heat-tolerant. Fothergill's Perpetual Spinach (a chard) is half price due to an enormous crop of seed. As ever, a wide range of legumes and grains. Other unusual items include Musgrave Munchie carrot, Darcy's Purple leeks, Meres salsify, and Delight bi-colour corn. Semences du Portage: Site is in French. Nouveautés for this year include Brad's Atomic cherry tomato, Greek basil, Yellowstone carrots, Midori Giant edamame, and Bronco green beans. They have their own selection of Red Man onions. Scarlet Ohno turnips are hard to find. There are also quite a number of seed collections available. la Société des Plantes: Site is in French. Emphasis is on permaculture, so a good number of perennial vegetables including mertensia maritima, camassia esculenta, turnip-rooted chervil, skirrets (chervis), crosnes, rumex scutatus French sorrel, and Ste Anne shallots, and the very rare blue-flowered salsify. Look for Noir Long de Pardailhan turnips, Branchu de L'Embarras spring (overwintering) kale, Black Russian fava beans, Green Jewel Lebanese summer squash, and Sonkatök Hungarian moschata squash. Solana Seeds: When I checked their list of new items, right away my eye was caught by Brown Russian cucumbers, Kajari melon (really striking!), Explosive Ember and Purple Flash (ornamental) peppers. I started off sneering at Aji Delight - a heat-free baccatum pepper - but when they mentioned paprika, I thought, yes! A good sweet paprika pepper is hard to find. American Purple Top rutabaga sure looks like a rutabaga, but Brad's Atomic Grape tomato is amazeballs. Sunshine Farm: Located in Kelowna, BC. Very heavy on the tomatoes and beans, but I note they have both Early Green and Thai Long Green eggplants. Alma Paprika (a personal favourite) pepper, but also Casa Aquaria, Chimayo, Fish, Ghost, Padron, Pasilla and Rocotillo, amongst others. Look for Strela, Lily's and Sweet Butter lettuces. I need to try Golden Purslane. Tatiana's TOMATObase: With 1187 varieties of tomatoes listed, this is the place to look if you want a specific rare one. Most of her other listings seem to have been trimmed down, although she has increased her peppers with 59 varieties being available, including Aji Limon, Cambuci from Barbadoes and mentioned as a favourite, Chimayo, Cserko, De Bresse, Rabbit Mouth, and Rooster Spur... Oh how I wish I could grow them all! Don't forget that Tatiana's TOMATObase is also a wiki with information about most of the tomatoes in existance. It's the first place I look whenever I hear of a new one. Terra Edibles: was our original source for seeds when we first started gardening many years ago, and they are still going strong. They have many of our tried and true varieties, including the very hard-to-find but highly worth-while Spanish Skyscraper pea. Also the hard-to-find legume inoculant, available for a fairly short season in the spring, so check. They are strongest on beans and tomatoes, but they have an assortment of other vegetables as well. There is a small but good selection of melons including Charentais, Ginger's Pride, Montreal, Oka, Minnesota Midget, and Petit Gris de Rennes. Squash include Kakai, Galeux d'Eysines, Green Hokkaido, and Red Kuri. Terre Promise: Site now has an English option, but it has some problems. Better to stick to the French. Look for Black Panther edamame, Grosse Blonde Paresseuse (Fat Lazy Blonde to you!) lettuce, Dutch Princess beans, Soissons Gros Blanc à Rame beans, Boston Marrow squash, and Morden Midget (not that small) eggplant. They are strong on perennial (permaculture) items such as Persil de Mer (Sea Parsley), Catawissa walking onions, scorzonera, Chufa, Red (Blood) sorrel, and apios americana. In July Ste Anne shallots will be available. Urban Harvest: A nice collection including new Medallion mache (corn salad), Diamond eggplant, Shishito and Fiarello Sweet peppers, Elephant Head amaranth (highly ornamental!), Tokyo Bekana greens, Tom Thumb lettuce (I recommend it!), Scarlet kale, and Sunrise Bumblebee cherry tomatoes. Not listed as new but still likely-looking are Shooting Star eggplant, Purple Sprouting broccoli, and Giallo de (sic) Italia yellow zucchini.  Urban Tomato: Not updated for 2019, but I would expect them to continue with their large selection of tomatoes and a small selection of other vegetables and flowers. West Coast Seeds: Very much like a West Coast equivalent to William Dam, with similar strengths and weaknesses. In spite of their very large number of f1 hybrids (some of them dubiously claimed not be GMO) they have a good selection of really useful open-pollinated seeds as well. I tripped over them last year after I posted when I was looking for as many open-pollinated varieties of cauliflower as I could find. They have 4 kinds, which given the prevalence of f1 hybrids in caulis is quite impressive. They list "Seeds to Watch for in 2019" including Kabuli chickpeas, Calypso slow-bolting cilantro, Yellow Wonder strawberries, Wasabi mustard, and Red Oxheart tomato. Other things that strike my eye include Matilda beans, Sayamusume soy beans, Winterkeeper Lutz beet, Natalino Romanesco and Summer Purple Sprouting broccoli. They have a quartet of open-pollinated radicchios that look lovely, as well as Puntarelle and Sugar Loaf chicories. Abundance kale, Alkindus lettuce, 6 types of quinoa, and Wasabi radish. Plenty of herbs and flowers, gardeners' tools, and a small but nice selection of potatoes rounds things out. Wild Rose Heritage Seed Company: Not yet updated for 2019. They are located in Lethbridge, Alberta so you can expect seeds adapted to short seasons. My impression is of a conservative but sufficiently comprehensive range of heirloom seeds. William Dam Seeds: I've spent the last 2 years complaining that almost everything new that they have is an F1 hybrid. And now this year, their only new vegetable that isn't one is Speedy bean - which admittedly sounds quite interesting. However, I'm willing to bet that the only reason it isn't a hybrid is because you can't (so far) do that with beans. They still have a number of open-pollinated standards but it looks like musical chairs is being played with them. Call out for Sumter pickling cucumbers which are the best pickling cukes we've ever grown, and we've grown quite a few. Still a good place for other gardening equipment that can be hard to find - trays, netting and row covers, organic fertilizer, etc, and a very large selection of ornamentals. from Seasonal Ontario Food https://seasonalontariofood.blogspot.com/2019/01/seed-catalogue-review-of-year-9th-annual.html

Didn’t get to do much in the garden today because it’s raining, but I did get all my new plants in the ground and that’s the important thing. Have also found my hopniss preparing to come up when I was adding the new ones. And something scraggly is trying come up that may just be my boneset.

Just got an email from one of the nurseries informing me that they’re moving in the direction of only accepting plants from Ontario suppliers. Makes perfect sense and I don’t fault them, but it means some of the plants I’ve ordered may not be available. In spite of being native to the area and nearby, it doesn’t mean any Ontario suppliers carry them. So...we’ll see. Really hoping I can get sweetshrub. The only other place that carries it hasn’t made their bush/shrub list available yet this year so I don’t even know if they’ll have it or not.

Still nothing back from that other nursery.

But! One of the others has made their plant list recently available and I’m getting downy wood mint this year! Nobody else sells that! I’ll be attempting fireweed again while I’m at it.

There are a couple nurseries it so far looks like I’m skipping this year because I already have/can’t fit in what they do have available and what I want from them they so far aren’t carrying. So looks like no native yew, no native burning bush, and no Adam’s needle again this year.

8th Annual Seed Catalogue Review

I'm finding this year a big temptation on the seed ordering front! We are supposed to be cutting back and consolidating but I see sooo many new things I want to try. Mr Fredzy and I are just going to have to fight it out! There are more seed companies listed here than ever before. I don't know that any of them are just hatched; it's more I managed to miss them before. I'm not really seeing any distinctive new trends emerging, but the directions of the last few years continue. If anything, I am noticing a lot of herbs this year but I'm not sure if that's a trend or if I am just noticing them. My attention certainly does bounce around. As ever, don't forget to check Seeds of Diversity's  Seed Catalogue Index if you are looking for something specific (and, in fact, if you are just browsing too). A'Bunadh Seeds: Situated an hour from Edmonton, they supply seeds for short (zone 2a) Alberta seasons; 90 to 110 days. Some items listed as new include Kabouli Black garbanzos, O'Dricoll's pole bean, Leanne's Pioneer Pickling cucumber, Prince onion, Lower Salmon River squash, Ampus Polish pepper, and Fuer Kugel beets. They have a lot of peas (not surprising) and a lot of corn which is more surprising. They also have a very large selection of garlic, as well as some rhubarb, comfrey and asparagus roots. AgroHaitai: The only Canadian source I know of for mostly Asian vegetables; they have a good reputation but most of their offerings are F1 hybrids. Still, some very interesting things there. I cannot tell if their site is updated for 2018 or not, so I will just mention some of the things that look interesting to me - mostly not hybrids. Look for Bao Tah nappa cabbage, Late Green choy sum, Small Gai Choi mustard (35 days to maturity!), Ho Tau Bok (choy), Petch Siam eggplant, Chuan pole green bean, Oregon Sugar Pod II snow pea - recommended for dau miu but treated seed, Noodle King yardlong beans, Peking Strain kohlrabi, White Ball radish, and Leisure slow-bolting coriander. Annapolis Seeds: This is their 10th year in business, and they now list over 500 varieties. New things for this year include what Owen is calling Inca Berry (I have written about it as Golden Berry), Zapotec Pink Ribbed tomato, Fortna White Pumpkins (so cute!), Fort Portal Jade bean, Lebanese Za'atar (which term gets used for a few different herbs; here it is a form of summer savory), Bear Necessities kale (a Tim Peters variety), Sapporo Express and Juno peas, and Dragon's Claw millet. Burt's Greenhouses: Mostly a nursery with ornamentals, Burt's also sells a good range of sweet potato slips at reasonable prices. We got our Toka Toka Gold, Owairaka, and Purple sweet potatoes from them. They have Beauregard, a classic orange fleshed sweet potato that does well in Ontario. They also have Cuban, Covington, Georgia Jet, and Tainung 65. The Cottage Gardener: They have a note up that they are experiencing technical difficulties with their 2018 catalogue, but the 2017 catalogue is still up and things won't change too much, I expect. I'll update this post once the 2018 listings are up. Eagle Creek Seed Potatoes: Potatoes don't tend to come and go like seeds, but I note Bellanita fingerling as one I have not seen previously. Also new; Alta Blush early. I don't know if they are new but I note Citadel and Roko as sounding interesting. I think I will need to order some German Butterball as we seem to have eaten most of ours. If you are interested in potato breeding, Rebsie Fairholm suggests Pink Fir Apple as a mother. And as ever, if you can't decide, they have some really good mixed packages. Edible Antiques: Grown in Prince Edward county. New this year, Acoma Light melons should be drought tolerant. Drew's Dandy beans look really charming. Iroquois Cornbread beans would be great to grow with some Iroquois corn. If you want black turtle beans, Mandan Black are probably a good choice for the north. Ordono peppers are drought tolerant, amazingly purple, and hot. If you want your purple peppers sweet, try Violet Sparkle. I've kind of skipped over the tomatoes, but there are lots. Greta's Organic Gardens: Greta doesn't indicate what's new, so a selection of things that catch my attention out of her very large list of offerings: Baklout Tunisian and Korean Kim Chi hot peppers, Long White bitter melon, Bourguignonne and Red Butter Romaine lettuces, British Wonder, Karina and San Cristoforo peas, Carminat pole beans, Green Luobo radish, H-19 Little Leaf cucumber (excellent and hard to find!), Iko Iko sweet pepper, Jagallo Nero and Portuguese Tronchuda kales, Scarlet Ohno Revivial turnips, and Yellow purslane. Lots more; a good selection of tomatoes in particular. Harmonic Herbs: Not updated for 2018 as I post this. They specialize in medicinal herbs but have a good selection of short season vegetables including their own earliest Norwesterlee tomato, Pink Beauty radish, Canoncito pepper, Margaret's Sugar Snap pea, Perfection fennel, and Gaucho beans (a Carol Deppe variety). They have sea-buckthorn seeds, and Mexican Tarragon (I know it as Anisón and it's actually a kind of marigold). Hawthorn Farm: Also not updated for 2018. Since this is, so far as I am concerned, a key source of seeds for southern Ontario, I will update once their new listings are up. Heritage Harvest Seed: One of Canada's best heirloom seed companies, located in Manitoba. I have found a number of our favourite varieties here, including Gnadenfeld melon, January King cabbage, and a lot of our favourite peas. New this year is American Wonder pea (sounds like a must-try for us). Black Canterbury bush bean, Chickpea of Spello, Green Delicious and Sibley squashes, Le Puy green lentils; all sound really interesting. I also see Provenzano tomato - an Italian heirloom grown for many years in northern British Columbia, so already well adapted to Canadian conditions. Hope Seeds: This Nova Scotian company specializes in east-coast heirlooms. New this year they have Iannetti Slicer beans, Filderkraut (whoa, pointy!) and Perfection Savoy cabbages, Kincho green onions, Amish Butter popcorn, Dorata di Parma yellow onions, Kalocsai Paprika pepper, and strawberry crown pumpkins. I have my eye on that paprika in particular! Ferme Tournesol: A fascinating list from a fascinating place! New this year includes Duborskian hardy RICE! Their new tomatoes are already kind of picked over, but there are some interesting lettuces - Sucrine, Red Butter Romaine, Pirat, Crispino Iceberg, and Reine des Glaces. There's also Ancienne d'Acadie savory, and Stella Blue squash. Furthermore, there are seeds for plants of Ferme Tournesol's own breeding: Rainbow Tatsoi, Big Fat Jalapeño, Carrot Bomb pepper, and Kale and Mustard mixes. In addition to a good general selection of vegetables, they have quite a few cover crops. Jardins de l'Écoumène: Site is in French and a little awkward to manoeuvre, but new offerings (nouveautés) include Pasquier lettuce, Barry's Crazy cherry tomato, Curly cress (alénois frisé), Shimonita Negi green onions, Oseille perpetual spinach (actually a sorrel I would say), and Tom Thumb popcorn - a selection from Elwyn Meader. Sounds like good stuff! Mapple Farm: Very little changes here from year to year, although I see they have Butterbush and Potimarron squashes new this year. They have good selection of Sweet Potato slips, as well as Ken Allen's sweet potato book - a must-have for the Canadian sweet potato grower. Crosnes, gobo, scorzonera, and Turkish Rocket are things you are not too likely to find elsewhere. They have small but finely curated collections of tomatoes, squash, soybeans, and melons Matchbox Garden Seed Co: have apparently been around for a decade; making this list for the first time. Another Ontario company growing most of their own seed! Selection is not huge, and leans more to well-known standards than the rare and exotic. I don't see items marked as new, but a few of their more unusual listings include Tadorna (Lyon) leek, Cracoviensis lettuce, Nebuka scallions, Capriglio Red peppers, Lemon summer squash (very cute!), and Rumii Banjaan tomato. Naramata Seed Company: A note at the site indicated they will be updated by the end of January, but that most varieties will be returning. So, existing listings that strike me as interesting - Long Winter leek and Piata di Bergamo onion, Baladi romaine, Gulley's Favourite, and May Queen lettuce. That last one is hard to find, but I grow it and recommend it highly. Greek Sweet Red and Silver Bell squash are appealing, and Gill's Golden Pippin is recommended. There's a good selection of peppers and tomatoes, including popular items as well as some quite unusual ones. Norton Naturals: Not a seed company; they sell a selection of roots, mostly native but also crosnes, edible daylilies, and double Tiger lilies. Native plants include: Arrowhead, Camas (Quamash), Groundnuts, Hog Peanuts, 3 different Jerusalem artichokes, Spring Beauty, Meadow Garlic, and Ramps (Wild Leeks). In my experience, if you do not have the necessary fungus in the soil those last will not grow. Worth trying if you have a typical Ontario woodlot though. They sell Prairie Turnip as seeds - this is actually a tap-rooted legume, and it looks like it would also make an excellent ornamental. It's currently out of stock, unfortunately. They ship twice a year - next up in April. OSC (Ontario Seed Company): They continue to be a very good source for open-pollinated classics at very reasonable prices but most of their new offerings lean towards F1 hybrids. I'm noting that in particular most of their corn is treated, as far as I can tell with the notorious bee-killing neonicotinoids, so DO NOT GROW. (If you are a large enough grower you can request untreated seed.) Also they do not always identify F1 hybrids so do some research before you order. Potager Ornemental de Catherine: Site is in French. New offerings include Sanjaku Kiuru cucumbers, Willow Leaf White lima bean, Moonlight "Spanish" (Runner) bean, quite a few climbing beans, the very early Edouard tomato, and the gently nippy Sucette de Provence pepper. The selection in general is not the largest out there, but well-considered with some interesting looking things. I'd have a go at Misato Rose radishes, Sucrine du Berry squash, Iona peas, and d'Espelette pepper. Prairie Garden Seeds: Just before posting time I received notice that the site is updated for 2018, with 30 new items and some returning ones as well. As they note, they don't tend to change their listings much from year to year, and the new offerings aren't labelled as such. However, they are the go-to source for many Canadian heirloom vegetables, and are particularly strong in tomatoes and beans, but also in grains - if you want small amounts of many historic Canadian wheats, or indeed all kinds of grains from all over the world, check here. If you want open-pollinated, untreated corn this is probably the place. Prices are very reasonable and amounts generous, but you cannot order online - you must send them an order form and a cheque. It's been well worth the trouble in my experience. Richter's Herbs: When it comes to herbs if they don't have it, good luck finding it. (Not impossible, necessarily. But good luck.) They have more basils than I have seen anywhere, and you could even grow bay (leaves) from seed. In a pot indoors in the winter, alas; but still. They also have a reasonable selection of vegetables, including quite a lot of peppers from the sublime (Ancho Poblano) to the ridiculous (the very vulgar Peter pepper). Patient growers can try Prickly Pear cactus. I have ordered some Agretti (Barba di Frate) and Okahijiki to try this year. I was also finally able to get some French shallots last fall, so I will be checking them with interest this summer. They list 2 za'atars, but theirs are forms of oregano. Black Nebula carrots are very eye-catching. Salt Spring Seeds: These guys are now one of the older of the newer Canadian seed houses and yes, that totally makes sense. Also, a lot of things that pop up at other seed houses started out here. This year I'm seeing Calvert, Galina, Gold Harvest, and Osayo Endo peas. Black Beluga lentils, Winnifred's garbanzos, Pisterzo pole beans, Nine-Star Perennial broccoli, Candystick Delicata and Gill's Golden Pippin squash, Yellow Capriglio peppers, Candy Mountain sweet corn and Cascade-Ruby Gold flint corn, from breeder Carol Deppe - not all of those are new; some of them just catch my interest. Semences du Portage: Site is in French. Nouveautés for this year include Goodman cauliflower, Maxibel beans, Black Kabouli chick peas, Lancer parsnip, Pink Thai poppy, Lemon catnip, and Green Zebra tomato. There are some excellent older listings too: look for Savignac and Noire du Portage tomatoes bred in Quebec, Raxe radish, Palla Rossa radicchio, Scarlet Ohno Revival turnips, Oka melons, Fisher's Earliest corn, Jericho romaine lettuce, Tante Alice cucumber and Dragon carrots and more. Strong in herbs. la Société des Plantes: Site is in French. Herbs, native plants, ornamentals and vegetables presented higglety-pigglety (though you can sort them), but some surprising things can be sifted out. Eye-catching to me are Watanabe Early gobo (bardane japonaise), Jaune Ovoïde Des Barres (Yellow Intermediate) beet, Redventure celery, de Crosno rutabaga, Gaspé flint corn, Noir Long de Pardailhan turnip, Val-aux-Vents leek, Charlevoix soup pea, Raiponce (Rapunzel to you), and Fiori Blu salsify. In the fall look for Échalotte de Ste-Anne and Egyptian Walking onions. Solana Seeds:  This little Quebec seed house is strong on peppers and tomatoes, and with the exception of Purple Epazote, all the new offerings are one or the other. There is Bulgarian Carrot pepper, Chimayo pepper, and Orange Sweet Hungarian Cheese pepper. New tomatoes include Beauty Queen, Federle, Galina, Old German, Nyagous, Blue Pear, and Green Pear. Seed packets tend to be on the small side but prices are commensurately low.  Stellar Seeds:  Out of business as of this year. Sunshine Farm: Located in Kelowna, BC. Not updated for 2018 at time of posting. I see a good selection of fairly standard items, although they have quite a few herbs and greens, including Red-Veined sorrel. I haven't seed Petrowski turnips anywhere else. They have Hilds Blauer radish, Golden Egg eggplant, Sette Lune Romaine lettuce, and Kiss of Satan peppers! Quite a few tomatoes. Tatiana's TOMATObase: As ever with Tatiana's, I'm not going to mention any varieties here because where even to start? But if you are looking for unusual tomatoes this is a GOOD place to check. Tatiana has added 82 new tomato varieties to the list this year, total available now being 1273. She seems to have fewer of other things, although there are 37 lettuces, 15 melons, 22 squash, and I think 45 peppers. Still the only Canadian source of Grover Delaney watermelon. Tatiana has moved to a larger and more rural farm this year and warns that shipping will be a bit slower as she will not get to the post more than once a week. Terra Edibles: Celebrating 25 years in business this year, they were the first of the new wave of small seed houses we ordered from back when we still had an allotment garden. They are very solid on beans and tomatoes, but it looks like their selection has expanded a bit. The only things they mention as new are Jade and Ugandan Bantu beans, but I'm sure there's more. Things I haven't noticed before include Anna Aasa red cherry, Tappy's Heritage, and Southern Night, all tomatoes. In beans, Helda Romano, Monte Gusto wax, and Sequoia. Yellow Carrot Shaped radishes are intriguing, as is Wachichu Flint corn. They have many of our tried and true varieties, including the hard-to-find Spanish Skyscraper pea. Also the hard-to-find legume inoculant, available for a fairly short season in the spring, so check. Terre Promise: Site is in French. Last year, to my great excitement, they listed Rose de Roscoff onions. They sold out rapidly, and are still listed as out of stock, but they are at least still listed - I will be watching! While you wait, check out (wild) garlic from la maison des Jésuites de Sillery, available as bulbils. Also I am INTRIGUED by Sea Parsley, also known as Scottish Lovage (although it isn't lovage). Salt and shade tolerant! How about the Laliberté Pea bean, skirrets (chervis in French), chufa, Green Finger Lebanese cucumbers, and Canadien Blanc corn.  Cressonnette Marocaine is, in fact, an Italian lettuce. There are other more mundane things, but this is a place worth taking a look. Urban Harvest: I'm seeing things that weren't there last year, so I assume updated for 2018. How about Fiariello frying peppers, Jimi's Purple Haze poppy, Tom Thumb lettuce, Scarlet kale, and Sunrise Bumblebee cherry tomato? In general, a good and comprehensive listing of vegetables. Urban Tomato: Has a small selection of other seeds, but is mostly about the tomatoes. Newness is not indicated, but interesting ones (names, at least) include German Red Strawberry, Golden Delight, Moonglow, Sweet Angora and Striped Cavern. Wild Rose Heritage Seed Company: New this year, they have Green Brooks (I've always known it as Old Brooks) tomato, Rani cilantro, Marconi red peppers, Howden pumpkin, French Breakfast radish and Purple Peacock beans. In general, they have a solid if fairly conservative list of the better-known open pollinated varieties, and if you are just starting gardening you could do worse than to start with most of these. William Dam Seeds: The same story applies here as last  year. Their new introductions lean so heavily on F1 hybrids that I am hard pressed to find anything of interest. Their few new introductions in open pollinated vegetables (I think - they are not always clear) are Cabot bean, Scarlet Greshen runner beans, Vates kale, Miz America mustard, and Midnight Snacks tomato. THAT'S IT. They still seem to have many of the old open pollinated varieties they used to carry, but the herd definitely seems to be thinning. Still a good place for other gardening equipment that can be hard to find - trays, netting and row covers, organic fertilizer, etc, and a very large selection of ornamentals.  from Seasonal Ontario Food http://seasonalontariofood.blogspot.com/2018/01/8th-annual-seed-catalogue-review.html