How to Order Flower Seeds Like a Professional Gardener

These tips from Martha's head gardener will help you plan and order seeds for a beautiful flower garden.

On Martha’s farm, one of the most exciting times of year is when seed catalogs arrive for the upcoming growing season. I spend most of January diving into catalogs from trusted purveyors, marking things I know I need, things I’ve wanted, and anything new or different that catches my eye. Throughout the year, these seeds are used to create entirely new gardens, and to fill in existing gardens on the farm.

Many of the seeds we order in January are for Martha’s flower gardens, which we are constantly updating throughout the year. Whether we’re incorporating new varieties, colors, shapes, or more of the same tried and true, every year there are more new varieties of plants available.

When ordering seeds for your own flower garden, it’s important to consider what grows well in your area, and to draft a plan for where and how you’ll use the seeds. Keep these tips in mind as you browse this year’s seed catalogs.

Related: How (and When) to Start Seeds Indoors to Prepare Them for Spring Planting

Create a List of Flowers You’d Like to Grow

When choosing seeds for a cutting garden, the first step is to consider which flowers you want to grow. For Martha's cutting garden, we use the seeds of both annuals and perennials. We typically purchase more annuals because they grow much faster than perennials from seed to harvest. Some perennials may take years to reach maturity, so we grow most of these from plants instead of seeds.

My Flower Seed Go-Tos

The perennials I usually start from seed are lupine, columbines, dianthus, balloon flower, delphiniums, and foxglove. My favorite annuals to purchase seeds for are poppies, snapdragons, larkspur, zinnias, and sunflowers. 

Consider Your Garden Space

After choosing your flowers, consider the conditions in your garden space, including the amount of light and shade it receives, water accessibility and availability, and the direction it faces. Are there trees or houses nearby that create shade? An open area that allows for wind? Also consider your landscape’s drainage (slope, standing water, runoff), as well as your soil makeup and quality, and how to fix it over time.

Now, compare and contrast the growing requirements of your desired plants (light, water, drainage, zone, etc.) with your garden space. See which plants on your list have requirements that align best with your space and proceed from there.

Make a Plan

Once you know which flowers are best suited to your landscape, you can draft a plan for your cutting garden. There are two general types of cutting gardens: informal and production. An informal garden is where everything is all mixed up and planted together. A production garden has more structure and features long, straight, even rows of similar plants. This type of garden is easier to map out because it’s essentially rows and rows of flowers.

There are no strict rules for designing a cutting garden, so I tend to try everything in different ways to see what works. Plants are much like people in that many of them are not rigid and can be accommodating and adaptable.

Order Your Seeds

Now it’s time for the fun part—ordering your seeds. I typically start with this step when making plans for Martha’s farm, but if you’re new to seed ordering, it’s helpful to choose your plants and make a plan first.

When ordering seeds, I like to spend time going through catalogs from purveyors and marking the things I want to get for the upcoming growing season. I do this for multiple catalogs, comparing and contrasting their offerings. Then, I go back and edit, removing duplicates and comparing prices.

After the editing stage, I begin to iron out a more formal list and make plans for each of the gardens. Then, I fully tighten up an order with what I actually need for the gardens I plan on creating and refilling, as well as some ‘fun’ things to play with.

Where We Order Seeds From

We have numerous sources we regularly order from, as well as new-to-me ones that come up every year. The primary sources we use include:

• Johnny’s

• Bakers Creek

• Select Seeds

• Kitazawa

• Vilmorin

• Franchi

• Sow True Seed

Determine How Many Seed Packets to Order

For some plants, like zinnias, one seed makes one plant that forms multiple flowers. For other plants, like sunflowers, one seed only makes one flower per plant, so you’ll need more seeds if you want to grow multiple flowers. I also order multiple packets if it’s something I really like or want to plant a large swathe or grove of. Seeds can be stored in a cool, dark, dry spot, like a refrigerator, so don't be worried about ordering too many packets.

Think Ahead

You should aim to purchase seeds all at once for the entire year ahead. January is prime seed ordering time, since seed companies often sell out of many varieties, especially those that are special or rare.

The other reason to order seeds in the winter is timing. Even if a flower doesn’t bloom until summer or fall, you generally have to start seeds many months in advance in order to guarantee a crop. You can also extend your growing season by many weeks or even months by buying seeds early and starting them indoors months before you plan to plant outside.

Read the original article on Martha Stewart.