January 12, 2022: We’re back with Season 3 of Ask a Master Gardener, celebrating 2022’s Year of the [Ecological] Garden. As always, while we have a theme for today, we’re happy to answer any gardening questions.

Today, at 1:00 pm, Cathy will talk about Seed Catalogues: Past, Present, Future.

Join our zoom session:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYkcOGsrz4jEt0qKidQgh_u4_WZCLcEG_EZ

Remember the days before the Internet when we anxiously waited for our seed catalogues to arrive so that we could start dreaming and planning for spring and summer plantings. Imagine how welcome those catalogues would have been for early growers who were isolated in their cabins or farms waiting for winter to end.  

Believe it or not the earliest garden catalogue appeared over 400 years ago at the 1612 Frankfurt Fair.  It was a bulb catalog called Florilegium Amplissimum et Selectissimum, created by Emmanual Sweerts in the Netherlands.

During the 18th and 19th century new printing methods, improved travel and mail service helped seed growers find new homes for their seeds.  Those gorgeous creations provided information and entertainment that fueled the dream.  

Join us this to learn more about the fascinating history of seed catalogues and to talk about their future.   

You can learn more about this presentation here. Thanks Anna for writing such a great blog post!