Catalog season is dream time for gardeners

By Dean Fosdick | The Associated Press • Published November 29, 2008

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Christmas might be children's favorite time of year, but for gardeners the season of dreams comes immediately after the holidays when the seed catalogs begin to arrive.

Seed catalogs have been a direct-mail staple for generations of backyard growers, whose appetite for fresh fruits, vegetables and lively splashes of flowering color are building as winter settles in.

There are the familiar and proven plants and shrubs along with many promising heirloom, hybridized or exotic plants entering the market.

"Catalogs are dream books," said George Ball, chairman and chief executive officer of W. Atlee Burpee & Co., one of the nation's pioneer seed catalog companies. "People use the catalogs to plan out their gardens. Catalogs sit on bedside tables. They're placed in workrooms and carried around in briefcases. Our catalogs are battered and dog-eared long before the planting season begins."

Planting is the most capital-intensive phase of gardening. It's when most buying decisions are made about fertilizers; pesticides or organic supplies; seeds; plants; shrubs; trees; and gardening accessories, from greenhouses to gloves.

The Mailorder Gardening Association estimates total mail order and Web site sales of more than $3 billion in 2009, said Randy Schultz, a spokesman for the group. "The average household will spend about $125," he said.

Prices next year should rise an average 3 percent to 4 percent, Ball said. He blamed the higher prices on production costs tied to competition for biofuel crops, greater demand for food and fodder, and fewer acres under cultivation.

"We produce about half our seeds ourselves, but rely on vendors and contractors who breed and produce for us around the world," Ball said.

Despite the troubled world economy, however, suppliers appear optimistic.

"Sales of gardening products tend to be recession-resistant because people spend money planting gardens and sprucing up their yards," Schultz said. "Strong sales for vegetable seeds and plants will continue during 2009."

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