My husband handed me an article from the paper, a Bud Wells column on the new Lexus IS250. That’s right – a car, so when I glanced at the first two paragraphs, I handed it back saying “I’m not going to read this.” Please understand: the writer talks about split torque and traction advantages, and I’d just as soon take a hammer blow to the head than read that because I’m just not into cars.
But ooohhh, let me while away my time pouring over seed catalogs, with their seductive phrases of “tolerance to a third race of fusarium wilt,” or “monogerm seeds contain only one embryo, eliminating the need to thin,” and I’m a quivering jelly of a girl. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I love the fourth season of gardening: shopping.
If you’ve never ventured out of the super marts or grocery stores into the world of catalogs and garden centers, let me lead you into temptation. There’s a bevy of choices, from internet to glossy mags to locally owned retailers filled with vegetables and fruits that will rock your world.
There’s no need to stay with the standard “Better Boy” tomato (unless you love it), when Pruden’s Purple, Jeaunne Flamme, or Zapotec will win your heart. Potatoes transcend russet or Yukon gold into purple Vikings, red caribes or German butterballs. And you’ll never look an iceberg in the eye again after you’ve tastes the crisp, sweet flavor of freckles or Merveille de Quatres Saison lettuce.
You – yes, YOU, deserve better than the big box offerings of plants that deliver less than quality fare. No, the modern kitchen gardener is savvy enough to grow food that isn’t hybridized past the ability to taste great.
Get out. Get shopping. Look for locally adapted varieties and heirlooms. You’ll find a new world opens to your kitchen.
Try these great resources:
Botanical Interests – botanicalinterests.com
Reneees Garden Seeds – reneesgarden.com/
Cook’s Garden – cooksgarden.com/
Seed Savers Exchange – seedsavers.org/
Seeds of Change – seedsofchange.com/
Gardening after five 
You’ve got me rarin’ to go, Carol! Bust out of my big box mentality and give me variety : )
The last time I went to the Farmers’ Market, I picked up this purple cucumber thing that looked like a corkscrew. It was quite tasty. Umm, what did I eat??