Pinetree gardens. www.superseeds.com. Pinetree is based in Maine, so I am relatively assured that the little critters will be hardy enough here in Massachusetst. And they specialize in small, VERY cheap seed packets. The idea is that most of us really only need a few seeds, so this way you can afford to try more varieties and there is less waste.

Now on to Thompson & Morgan (which has never been accused of being too inexpensive...)! www.thompsonmorgan.com

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2001

Answers

OK, those orders are submitted. Now waiting for catalogs from Burpees, Johnnys, Stokes and New England Wild Flower Society.

So much for my resolution to cut back this year. At least it has been mild enough I have made progress in tasks that usually wait for the spring. Mid 70s today. I think winter is supposed to arrive this weekend.

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2001

I have T&M catalogues going back nine years, they're like mini-encyclopedias. I grew some really nice yuccas from a pack of assorted. They seem to be hardy, have gone through a couple of hard frosts over the years. Sorry they don't offer plants any more.

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2001

Oh wow, so glad I am not the only one pouring over the seed catalogs. I have such a hard time making up my mind. I love the Pinetree gardens because of the small, affordable packages; but then I end up ordering so many varieties "just to try".

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2001

Yes, me too! I was sitting in bed last night poring over catalogues for Jerusalem artichokes. Here is a great seed site:http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/altseed.html

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2001

Seraphima's Great Seed Link

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2001

I did something different this year: since we had that spell of unseasonably warm weather, I took most of my seed money and bought end of the season bulbs at 50% - 75% off. There were also daylillies and peonies marked in the mix, so I'll have color all summer.

Next year, I'll be focusing on food crops, and if I can get some space in one of the community gardens, I'll plan a few rows of Silver Queen corn. I just don't have the room for it at home.

I plan on doing a lot of canning next summer. There just wasn't time last year, with my father's death and all the associated work that went along with putting his affairs in order. It's great to have that just about finished. It's been a very long summer and fall in that area.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2001

Meemur, I have quite a few different kinds of daylilies from Mom's garden farther north. I spread them through my perennial beds. I finally understood this year that it was the daylilies more than anything else that gave some of those beds the impression of being out of control. Fine early in the season, but then the strapping leaves lay over everything in their corner. (Plus the original bed which now has too much shade.)

So, one of my major fall projects was to sort that out. I decided my veggie garden was larger than it needed to be for the time being, and I transplanted divisions from the different clumps to that spot. Next spring I get to remake the older beds, and the "original" bed will now be mostly shade plants. 'twill work out fine if I can take some time off at the right time next spring. Meanwhile, because the weather has been so mild here this fall, I have made some progress on some chores that usually wait until the spring. I hope that gives me the flexibility I will need.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2001

My daylilies are mostly in pots. That way, they can be moved to a less conspicuous spot when they've done flowering and it's not a horrible chore to divide them--stick 'em on top of the potting bench, no bending.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2001

always suspected you guys were seedy characters...

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2001

My daylillies function as fence row borders, not as specimen plants. Ditto the peonies. I keep tidy plants in "front" under the trees -- begonias, hosta, ferns. I'm well aware of "daylilly shag" -- if I group hybrids together, though, I get color most of the summer and it doesn't look as bad as when there is only one type together that flowers for around two weeks.

I don't care *that much* about appearance, though. Martha isn't welcome in my garden. I keep the weeds down. Most of my energy, after the spring and fall mulching, goes into growing veggies.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2001

My favorite way to handle daylilies is to put them in raised beds with fieldstones around them for them to "sag" over. Keeps them looking pretty nice all season.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2001

Do day lillies like being handled? Inquiring minds want to know...

Well, do day?

-- Anonymous, December 08, 2001

Doo dah.

-- Anonymous, December 08, 2001

Some people with tougher stomaches than I harvest daylilies and fry them up for dinner. Since this is the same crew that also likes to fry crickets and grasshoppers (minus legs) in real butter, I avoid eating dinner with them.

-- Anonymous, December 08, 2001

Um, I posted an article on cooking and eating daylilies on the original TB. I don't eat things that chirp and stuff.

-- Anonymous, December 08, 2001

Barefoot, good question.......wonder if I could get a government grant to study the whole thing??? ;>)

-- Anonymous, December 08, 2001

sure, get a government grant. I see no problem with that.

-- Anonymous, December 09, 2001

"Do day lillies like being handled?"

I transplanted a bunch of day lilies this year, knocking off the dirt and separating them down to individual plants. The roots are very provocatively shaped. Looks like something that would like to be handled...

-- Anonymous, December 09, 2001

Brooks--

OH NO! Not the temporary perennial bed in the vegetable garden!!! Aaaahhhhhh!!!!

I have one of those--it's been there for seven(?) years. Every year I say "no more new plants 'til I get it cleaned out". And every year I or my husband adds more to it...it's about 800 square feet now.

And that's just the one in the vegetable garden. We have two others as well...

But this year I AM going to get the new beds finished and everything moved around where it's supposed to be. We're going to skip the veggies next summer and concentrate on the yard.

If y'all remember, a few months ago I mentioned I had discovered a buried rock pile in the front yard with cement underneath...well, it sort of took on a life of it's own as I was digging the rocks out. So we now have a combination sunken patio/raised bed built of field stone. I didn't get it finished 'cause the tractor broke down, then the wheel fell off my wheel barrow and then I sprained my neck, but so far it's looking kinda cool.

-- Anonymous, December 09, 2001

The "temporary perennial bed" is actually a vegetable bed extension that I created for y2k. Plus I wanted a larger variety of veggies that year, but eventually got that out of my system! I realize most any of my perennial beds could be converted to veggies if I really needed the room in a hurry (all the beds are dug very deeply), but all the others are ones where it would be rather traumatic to do that. The veggie bed isn't (aesthetically) an ideal place for the day lilies, and I think I may have just the stone wall to use later next year.

-- Anonymous, December 10, 2001