The aftermath of seed catalogs

I ordered an embarrassing number of seed packets in February. But don’t worry, I did it in an extremely organized way and made a spreadsheet about it.

After spending many delightful hours poring over my many seed catalogs, I got down to business identifying all of the items on my wishlist and entering them into a spreadsheet. I’m not ashamed to say that my initial wishlist was about 1,300 items (some of which included significant overlap between different seed purveyors that carry some of the same varieties). Thankfully, with a handy spreadsheet, it was easy to find duplicates and whittle that 1,300-item wishlist down to about 130.

If you’re looking for spreadsheet-related inspiration, here’s what mine looks like:

I have a sheet for perennials, one for annuals, and one for edibles.

Because I’m interested in trying a lot of new varieties from seed this year, I elected to place a lot of orders from companies that offered smaller quantities of each item. I can’t imagine ordering this many different varieties every year without driving myself absolutely bananas come seed starting time.

I’m using this year to basically throw a bunch of things at the wall and see what sticks. I’ve learned quite a bit about the various bugaboos of my 1/3 acre property working in it over the last couple of years. That said, I’m planning to expand the garden into some previously neglected areas this summer and with that will come more trial and error when it comes to specific plants that do and do not do well in those areas. Hence my ordering 130 different types of seeds.

Seeds I ordered, neatly arranged in piles so as to look less overwhelming in their quantity

Of those seeds I ordered, about 60 are annuals, 30 are perennials, and 40 are edibles.

I’ve now added to my spreadsheet important information about starting each variety, the necessary timeline to do so, and whether they’re best started indoors or out. I’ve already winter sown several types (mostly native perennials from Prairie Moon Nursery) and when I return from vacation in mid-March, I’ll be ready to be a full-steam-ahead seed-starting machine (pending completion of my expanded setup in the basement).

I watch enviously as fellow gardeners in warmer zones are already deep into seed-starting phase, but our average last frost here isn’t until mid-May. Given how this winter has gone, I’d be surprised if we make it that long, but I don’t feel like tempting Mother Nature too much.

Some things I ordered that I’m particularly enthused about:

• several types of dahlias, including a packet of Floret originals

• marigold “strawberry blond”

• safflower “Corrales” in honor of my dear friend Natalie who grew up in Corrales, NM

• bird’s eyes “felicitas”

• amaranth “love lies bleeding”

• tiny “patio baby” eggplants

• shallots

• mâche (which I used to eat all the time when I lived in France!)

• purple “carminat” pole beans

• rose milkweed

• wild geranium

• pearly everlasting

• “summer pastels” yarrow

And many more. In truth I’m extremely enthused about all 130 some varieties of seeds I ordered! We’ll just have to stay tuned about which ones I’m still enthused about come summer.

In addition to growing seeds for myself this spring, I also look forward to being able to start seeds for others in whose gardens I’m lending a hand. For example, my brother and sister-in-law have a lot of interest in including native butterfly host plants in their yard and I’m happy to lend a hand and my expertise in providing that while they have a lot of other things going on.

Now, ask me how I’m feeling about all these seeds I’ve acquired in a couple of months when I’m in the thick of it.