THE SEASONS OF THE GARDEN
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CULINARY FLOWERS
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It's spring in all its splendor, and the whole garden comes
alive! Drink in the petalled fragrance of the apple
blossoms, smell the richness of the soil, roll up your
sleeves, and—to the tune of the honeybee's
symphony—finish up planting your tomatoes. Then as
you laze on the porch swing in the perfumed twilight of a
long, warm evening, listen to the katydids sing as you
dream of the rich harvests to come.
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WORDS FROM THE WISE
It seems there are two things most gardeners just can't get
enough of: fresh, homegrown tomatoes and good green-thumb
advice. Well, Brent Elswick told you how to grow all the
tomatoes you need back in MOTHER NO. 62 ("The Top
Tomatoes", page 40) ... and here's the scoop on several
newsletters that can make your growing activities more
rewarding.
Probably the best known garden journal is Thomas and Betty
Powell's The Avant Gardener (Dept. TMEN, Box 489,
New York, New York 10028). This fact-and address-packed
compendium of vegetable, fruit, and flower gardening
information is published every two weeks ... and you can
pretty well count on seeing the latest in horticultural
news here first. (The recent three-part discussion of solar
greenhouses was excellent!) Tom and Betty have a special
discount subscription rate for MOTHER-readers: $10 a year
(24 issues) . . . instead of the normal $15.
The National Association for Gardening publishes a
substantial 20-page tabloid newspaper—titled
Gardens for All News —four times a year.
This organization pays special attention to gardening as a
social phenomenon: community gardening (see MOTHER NO. 62,
page 82), children's programs, and horticultural therapy in
prisons are all subjects of recent articles. The
publication doesn't ignore the practical,
dirt-underthe-fingernails matters, though . . . and with
Dick and Jan Raymond handling the growing and preserving
information, you're sure of good, down-to-earth advice.
When you join the association, you'll automatically receive
a subscription to Gardens forAll News .
. . simply send $10 for a year's membership to Gardens for
All, Dept. TMEN, 180 Flynn Avenue, Burlington, Vermont
05401.
The good folks at Shades of Green (see address below)
publish a quarterly newsletter that's full of fine
information ... and subscribers get some special benefits,
too. For $4.00 a year you'll receive the right to place
free classified ads, have access to reduced-rate seed
specials, and help test new varieties of vegetables and
flowers.
Sallie Ballantine's TheHerb Quarterly is
more than a newsletter. The nicely produced 48-page
magazine contains herbal lore, cultural information, photo
essays, recipes, and access information. It's an excellent
buy at $10 a year ($18 for two years, $25 for three) from
The Herb Quarterly , Dept. TMEN, Box 576,
Wilmington, Vermont 05363.
TIME TO RE-SEED?
Whether it's as a result of underbuying your early seed
order, or because of a late decision to put in a fall crop
of cauliflower and brussels sprouts, you will sometimes
have occasion to purchase a few packets of plantables after
the early spring rush.
This year, why not give your "late" business to some of the
small home-based seed houses? You'd do well to check out
the offerings of such folks as Gene and Dee Milstein of
Applewood Seeds (Dept. TMEN, P.O. Box 400, Golden, Colorado
80401) , who sell a variety of wildflower seeds along with
their more conventional products ... John and Mary Beedle
of Shades of Green (Dept. TMEN, Box 57, Ipswich,
Massachusetts 01938), who—for 25¢—will
send you their catalog, and a copy of the 50%off sale list,
and a full-sized packet of basil seed . . . the Sinophiles
at Sunrise Enterprises (Dept. TMEN, P.O. Box 10058,
Elmwood, Connecticut 06110), who offer what is probably the
largest selection of Oriental vegetable seeds in this
country . . . our friends at Epicure Seeds (Dept. TMEN, Box
69, Avon, New York 14414), who comb the European catalogs
to bring the finest continental vegetables to American
gardens ... and the good people at Pine Tree Seeds (Dept.
TMEN, P.O. Box 1399, Portland, Maine 04104) , who
specialize in small packets at greatly reduced prices (12
hybrid tomato seeds will cost you between 25¢ and
40¢) .
If it's hot stuff you're after, you might want to send
25¢ to Horticultural Enterprises (Dept. TMEN, P.O. Box
340082, Dallas, Texas 75234) for its catalog of 31 types of
peppers ... hot, sweet, and in-between. And, finally, here
are two outfits that cater to green-thumb gourmets: J.A.
Demonchaux (Dept. TMEN, 827 North Kansas Avenue, Topeka,
Kansas 66608, catalog 25¢ ) and Le Jardin du Gourmet
(Dept. TMEN, Box 22, West Danville, Vermont 05873, catalog
50¢). The latter firm will send MOTHERreaders eight
packets of herb seeds -and a catalog-for only $1.00 ... or
12 packets of herbs plus a quarter pound of French shallots
for $2.95.
