Bringing History to Your Garden - Heirloom Seeds

You may remember your grandmother planting tomatoes and serving them later each summer. You may also observe that tomatoes just don’t taste as good as they used to. Or you may love the names of unique flowers and want to see them in your own garden. Consider planting heirloom seeds. These seeds are older and sometimes rare varieties that gave way to newer plants a few generations back. You may wish to recapture childhood memories or simply honor your ancestors by planting the same seeds they used to fill their tables with produce year-round.

Planting heirloom seeds is a way to connect with history and experience tastes you don’t normally find in restaurants or markets today. People buy heirloom seed packets for different reasons. First, these seeds yield plants that may evoke one’s past. Second, the color and taste of heirloom plants tend to be bright and vibrant. Third, planting heirloom seeds can be a fascinating hobby as you become an expert on plant varieties used in days past. Heirloom gardening is also a way to participate in the renewed interest in traditional farming, organic methods, and naturally-grown food.

How to Find and Enjoy Heirloom Seed Packets

Heirloom gardening has jumped in popularity around the country. Grocery stores, farmers markets, and larger chain stores are making the most of this interest in heirloom gardening. More and more online seed companies and garden supply stores carry heirloom seeds, also known as “ethnic seeds”. You’ll find a diverse choice of seed packets available for purchase.

The collecting of seed packets for their own sake is another gardening hobby. By collecting packets rather than planting seeds, the hobbyist, history buff, and food enthusiast can categorize and study the varieties of earlier American days and enjoy the colorful varieties of packet labeling.

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