FREE Seed Catalogs

Free seed catalogs? Oh yes! It’s the time of year when the ground is frozen and we wonder if anything will grow again. This is a perfect time for me to share with you my list of FREE (and great) seed catalogs — ones that are in print form…ones you can write in, mark up, dream over. There is nothing like holding a seed catalog in your hand in the dead of winter.  Even if you can only order one or two packs, there is something just wonderful about learning more about seeds. Go to each of these links and you will find on each page where to sign up to receive your very own free printed seed catalog.

Seeds = Hope

List of FREE Printed Seed Catalogs: Looking for hope and joy in winter.
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Laura Flanders

List of FREE Printed Seed Catalogs: Looking for hope and joy in winter.

It's the time of year when the ground is frozen and we wonder if anything will grow again.This is a perfect time for me to share with you my list of FREE (and great) seed catalogs, ones that are in print form...ones you can write in, mark up, dream over. There is nothing like holding a seed catalog in your hand in the dead of winter. Even if you don't order, there is something hopeful about looking at seed packets. If you know of another free PRINTED seed catalog, click on the red + to add to this list.

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  1. 1  Seed Savers Exchange - Organic, Heirloom Garden Seed Info & Store

    Seed Savers Exchange - Organic, Heirloom Garden Seed Info & Store

    I, Laura at Colorado Backyard Gardener, have several favorite places to get my seeds. This is one of them.
    Organic, Heirloom, Non-GMO Garden Seeds for sale. Heirloom vegetable, herb & flower seeds to buy online. Click to shop or get our famous 100-page Seed Catalog, free.

  2. 2  Hudson Valley Seed Library : Heirloom Seeds and Contemporary Art

    Hudson Valley Seed Library : Heirloom Seeds and Contemporary Art

    This is Laura's (of Colorado Backyard Gardener) FAVORITE place to buy seeds. Two of her reasons? (1) The art packs are beautiful and can be saved to use in craft projects (click here for what she did with her collection of art packs from the HV Seed Library). (2) The seeds are high quality and germinate well here in Colorado.
    The Hudson Valley Seed Library is a small, farm-based seed company celebrating heirloom and open-pollinated garden seeds and the relationship between art and agriculture.

  3. 3  Seeds of Change - Organic Seeds - Home Garden, Vegetable Seeds at SeedsofChange.com

    Seeds of Change - Organic Seeds - Home Garden, Vegetable Seeds at SeedsofChange.com

    Another favorite of Laura's who writes at Colorado Backyard Gardener.
    Seeds of Change is a premium online retailer of certified organic seeds, organic seedlings, and gardening tools and supplies.

  4. 4  Heirloom Seeds | Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co

    Heirloom Seeds | Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co

    Their rare seed catalog is the only free one. And it is beautiful. So fun to peruse in the middle of the winter. Heirloom Garden Seeds. Vegetables, Flowers and Herbs! Over 1450 varieties of heirloom seeds, All NON-GMO. Check out our free heirloom seed catalog.

  5. 5  Garden Tools | Organic Seeds | Organic Fertilizer | Garden Supplies | Organic Gardening Supplies

    Garden Tools | Organic Seeds | Organic Fertilizer | Garden Supplies | Organic Gardening Supplies

    Laura of Colorado Backyard Gardener loves the name of the home of the groworganic.com: Peaceful Valley Farm and Garden Supply. Makes you just want to go there! And check this out!....Free Organic Seeds with Every Order! Since 1976 we've supplied organic gardeners & farmers with garden supplies at very competitive prices.

  6. 6  The Cook's Garden - Vegetable Seeds and Plants, Herbs, Annual Flowers and Gardening Supplies

    The Cook's Garden - Vegetable Seeds and Plants, Herbs, Annual Flowers and Gardening Supplies

    Cooks Garden has a lovely selection. The link for their catalog is on the bottom left of the home page. Shop the Cook's Garden for vegetable seeds and organically grown garden-ready plants.

  7. 7  Welcome to Kitchen Garden Seeds

    Welcome to Kitchen Garden Seeds

    John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds is a very different catalog. Why? Not only are their seeds you can buy...but the catalog includes recipes! How cool is that?

Not At My Best

I have heard it said that I should not attempt to do things when I am not at my best.  Apparently if I am not at my best, I will make too many mistakes. I have even heard it implied that if I am not at my best, I might sin. Thus, I should wait to engage until I have a better chance to avoid sin. But the problem for me is that I’m not sure I have ever been at my best. And honestly, what does “at my best” even mean?

Rating chart

Does it mean I have to be EXCELLENT in all that I do? Or maybe it means I have to be totally awesome (a word that has little meaning anymore).

Does being at my best mean that I have to address all my potential limitations, thus limiting all liabilities?

If being at my best means being totally awesome, or perfect, or in a zone where my limitations are completely diminished, then I’m toast. Why? I’m simply NEVER in that zone.

All this could make me not want to show up to life. But I would never offer the hand of love. Why? 

The Words

My mother still knows the meaning of the words she hears. This is true even in the mid to late stage 5 of her Alzheimer’s journey.  Thus, on a certain Sunday morning, she was gripped by the words she heard. A song she had never listened to prior to this particular morning.

elderly worshipping

Here is a very short entry from my journal I’d like to share with you.

Crispy Tender Pork Carnitas

If you have ever eaten AMAZING pork carnitas they were probably cooked in a large vat of lard. But I bet you don’t have, nor do you want to use, a vat of lard. This recipe, created by my personal chef, avoids lard but does use a bit of bacon fat. Just a bit. And oh my, that “just a bit” keeps it on the side of healthy but takes it to a place that makes you want to sing.

Carnitas

There are some diverse ingredients added to this pork dish….

Dwelling Upon Endless Miracles

The culture in the West has messed with some beautiful words: extraordinary, spectacular, miracles, awesome. This list could go on. Some think we should stop using these words. Apparently they are so overused that they are no longer useful. For example, we shouldn’t use the word spectacular unless we can describe the elements that make it so. We shouldn’t say something is “awesome” and stop. We should go on and describe the actual qualities that makes it so awesome.

fall crocus coming up amongst fallen leaves

Part of me disagrees with this all this. It appears far too cynical for my “joyful bent.” And yet, I do love words. And words convey meaning. And if we throw words around, we can lose so much.

Faithful is another one of those words. “God is so faithful.” I hear this A LOT. Or anger about the lack thereof. “Where is God when you need him? I’m losing my home due to years of unemployment!”

Faithful, faithfully. These words are drowning in a puddle of overuse.

Monthly Colorado Gardening Chores

I have a love/hate relationship with monthly Colorado gardening chores. There are days when I’m out there sweating and grunting and thinking, “Why do I do this?” Then other days I love the hard work. I always love planting seeds and pruning and harvesting. But I don’t always love hauling dirt, mowing or turning over hard clay soil. But, ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

Garden tools in wheelbarrow

This is a new page for Colorado Backyard Gardener. Over the next year I will add to it, making suggestions and adding the ones you give me to this month-to-month chore guide. It will be particular to Colorado, what chores us Front Range gardeners typically do in any given month.

As I add to this page, I will work to keep it arranged and organized in a manner that is accessible to my readers.

Gluten Free Peach Almond Crisp

Gluten free peach almond crisp is a must in our family. Why? We love peaches and we freeze peaches and we love anything crisp. Oh, and I ADORE almonds. When you make this recipe, feel free to choose your own word: crisp, crunch, cobbler. Whatever! I just like a TON of the topping. So my recipe errs on this side, the side that has more calories. Sorry. But if it matters, this recipe is gluten-free! And even if you aren’t gluten-free you will still want to make it this way. Trust me. (I say trust me a lot.)

My daughter and her husband are coming to visit for Thanksgiving. She is gluten-free so we have been learning the art of baking and cooking without gluten in the Flanders family. (She doesn’t like it when I announce to people that she is gluten-free. Sorry Jenna.)

I decided to create a recipe using the gluten-free flours I already have on hand, trying it out again on a student of mine who is coming over for dinner. Both he and his wife are gluten-free. I often use my students as guinea pigs because students are hungry. Thus, they forgive me easily even if my recipe is horrible. But this recipe is WONDERFUL because