We can easily turn our thoughts to gardens. The catalogs have been piling up since early December. No time until now to really look at them. But what better opportunity than now to attack that stack and see what they have to offer? I am rubbing my hands together in glee. Steep that pot of tea and sharpen the pencil, lets get ready for the coming season.

Although I have a deep love of seed catalogs, let me make this completely clear: there are seed sources right here in our own town. The seeds racks will be appearing very soon at our local feed and seed store and the hardware stores. You will have your pick of very successful seeds right at your fingertips. You do not need to order seeds from a catalog.

Starting seeds is not for everyone. You will need supplemental lights or, at the very least, immaculate windows. You may end up with stringy, weak, yellow seedlings that will do you little good. The effort may not be worth it. You need to really and truly want to start seeds.

We are graced with excellent nurseries that offer annual and perennial plants that have been grown under ideal conditions and are just waiting for you to make a tidy purchase and bring them home to your garden.

That said the lure of a seed catalog is just too strong for some of us to resist. Just reading them is satisfying in its own right. You can learn a great deal about the plants of your dreams just by reading the captions. Here are a few that offer a good read as well as an excellent selection. It is great fun to try a plant that you have heard of and want to see if you can make it grow in your garden. We need to continue to experiment and push the gardening envelope. Share your successful experiments with other gardeners and Homer will become a better place for it.

Veseys, P.O. Box 9000, Calais, Maine, 04619-6102, or 1-800-363-7333, or www.veseys.com. This company is renowned for short season crops. In addition to their vegetable catalog they have a Veseys and Flowering Shrubs catalog. Excellent. This has been one of my sources for vegetables seeds for years.

White Flower Farm, P.O. Box 50, Litchfield, Conn., 06759-0050, or 1-800-503-9624, or www.whiteflowerfarm.com. This where I purchased my Strawberries and Cream collection of asiatic lilies, among other things. Beautifully written and photographed and the text will keep you riveted. They are very proud of their plants and the prices reflect that.

Pinetree Garden Seeds, P.O. Box 300, New Gloucester, Maine, 04260, or 207-926-3400, or www.superseeds.com. This catalog focuses on short season gardens and also small gardens. The seed packets are tiny and inexpensive in comparison to any other seed catalog. For instance: Nantes carrots, 300 seeds for 55 cents. They offer tools and books and kitchen wares.

Seeds of Change, P.O. Box 15700, Sante Fe, New Mexico 87592-1500, or 1-888-762-7333, or www.seedsofchange.com. This one offers 100 percent certified organic seeds. If you are really and truly serious about growing and eating organic produce this is the source for you.

Territorial Seed Company, P.O. Box 158, Cottage Grove, Ore. 97424-0061, or 541-942-9547, or www.territorialseed.com. Their cover declares: "All tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants available as plants. Conventional, organic and biodynamic seed. Over 170 new products for 2004." Now there's a statement. And they even have a nice selection of garlic.

Thompson & Morgan, P.O. Box 1308, Jackson, New Jersey, 08527-0308, or 1-800-274-7333, or www.thompson-morgan.com. This is an elegant catalog that is heavy on flowers and gives a load of information for growing conditions.

Forestfarm, 990 Tetherow Road, Williams, Ore., 97544-9599, or 541-846-7269, or www.forestfarm.com. This is more like a text book. Not much in the way of illustrations. You may need to know what it is you are looking for before you commit to the $5 cost of this catalog. A huge selection of ornamental plants.

Now these catalogs carry actual plants. I have been ordering perennials through the mail for years and years and have yet to be disappointed.

Chalk Hill Clematis, P.O. Box 1847, Healdsburg, Calif. 95448, or 707-433-8416 or www.chalkhillclematis.com. Well, there it is, the source of my million dollar clematis. Now you know. Order if you dare. But I must say I have a really spectacular vine.

Bluestone Perennials, 7211 Middle Ridge Rd., Madison, Ohio, 44057, or 1-800-852-5243 or www.bluestoneperennials.com. I think this is my all-time favorite. The plants arrive in beautiful condition and the selection is just too much fun. They make it very clear what plants will do well in the north.

These are but a few of the catalogs out there. I have ordered from all of these at one time or another and have never been disappointed. Most of them offer tools, baskets, books and season extenders. All are food for thought.