Planting seeds is one of the most optimistic activities one can do. In the winter, when the garden is sleeping, planning what seeds to buy, sow, and grow is the best way for a gardener to stay happy. 
I am one lucky woman. I am tasked with buying ALL of the seeds for the Natureworks retail store. We are talking thousands and thousands of seeds. I spend long, lovely hours sorting through determinate and indeterminate tomatoes, climbing and bush beans, tall and short sunflowers, and every other flower, herb, and vegetable seed you can imagine. By the time I finally make my choices, days have gone by.
This year, I am very excited about some new varieties we will be stocking.
Purple Vegetables
I am suddenly on a kick to sell as many purple vegetables as I can find. Why? The purple color means they have more anthocyanins which are antioxidants with many health benefits.
- Dragon (shown above, picture courtesy of High Mowing Seeds), Purple Sun, and Cosmic Purple are all varieties of purple carrots that we will be stocking this year. They can either be purple on the outside and inside or orange on the inside with purple skins. They make any salad or pan or roasted root veggies look just so pretty.
- Burgundy broccoli- we are thrilled to carry this delicious, nutritious variety from Botanical Interests.
- Royalty Purple Pod organic bush beans
- Purple Moon organic kale is one of the darkest purple kales we could find.
- Peking Ta Ching Kou Pai Tsai Asian Green (shown above)- I am super excited to grow this beautiful, delicious green in my home garden. This photo is courtesy of Seed Saver's Exchange.
Cool Cut Flowers
- Jewels of Opar- these were the most talked about flower at the Ct Flower Collective tour this summer. It's the cool seed pods that are used for arrangements. These organic seeds are from Seed Saver's Exchange. Interestingly enough, the leave are edible!
- Frosted Explosion grass- this is another very cool annual grass that all of us were admiring when touring a flower farm in Newington with a CT Hort summer event. Easy to grow, so soft and fluffy. The picture above was taken there, with orange annual Amaranth in the background.
- American Basket Flower- this is actually an American native annual that smells really wonderful. It's scientific name is Centaurea americana! This picture is from our supplier Seed Saver's Exchange.
- Ammi Dara- this looks like a purple Queen Anne's Lace but it is Ammi, an annual that will not take over your garden. This picture was taken at a flower farm in Newington, CT.
New Annual Flowers to Grace your Garden
- Hot Chocolate Nicotiana- this is an exciting new flowering tobacco from our friends at Fruition Seeds. Yes, is has a very sweet scent.
- Hopi Red Dye Amaranth- I have been growing this in my home garden for over a decade. I love the dramatic color of both the flowers and the leaves. It gets 5-6' tall and self-sows in my veggie beds. Everyone who visits my yard asks about it. It's time to sell the seeds at Natureworks!
- Incredible Swirl Coreopsis- an annual variety with cream flowers and deep wine-red centers.
- Apricotta Cosmos- yes, you guessed it, an apricot cosmos. A simply dreamy variety from our friends at Botanical Interests.
This is just a SMALL number of the many new and exciting seed varieties we will have on our racks this year. Try something new, in fact, try a bunch of new veggies, herbs, and flowers. You will be thrilled when summer rolls around and your winter work pays off in bountiful harvests.
