I know what you mean! I have recently fallen back in love with coreopsis myself. That Roulette looks fantastic!! I've been eye ballin' that one myself for a couple months now. Will you do a follow-up post later this spring/summer on how they are doing? I would love to know what you think of Roulette... CMK

deborah, Do they have this sale every year? We want to plant trees and shrubs at our new home once we move and this kind of sale would be great for me!!! And the best part is that the dh would be ok with it since he's the one who wants more trees and shrubs to screen out the neighbors from our hot tub!!! glo

There is a trend toward local sourcing for seeds, especially natives (obviously). I found one source, after a cursory search, for Local Harvest. They only sell seeds obtained from a network of farmers in the USA. Check out their Zinnias. Zinnias originated in Mexico, and quickly spread to Europe. It's hard to find local sources, except thru trades and probably very few seed companies that grow their own for commercial production. Wish I had known you needed purple Gomphrena. I have tons and tons and tons of seeds. This was a great beneficials and small butterflies plant! The Reikirt's Blues and Hairstreaks adored it. As to viability of last year's seeds, I totally concur with Marcha. I'm sure they are good seed still, assuming they were good to begin with. I have kept seed for several years, stored in less than stellar conditions, and still had them germinate. Germination rate may be slightly lower, but probably not by much. Susan Here is a link that might be useful: Local Harvest seeds

Good points. Yes, some seed suppliers don't tell you how many seeds are in a package, so you really don't know the value, and you wouldn't be able tell in advance whether a trade would be fair. I propose that items only be put on a list if the number of seeds is known, whether through catalogue information or, as you mention, by having already received the seed packet. The "monetary fair trade" you mention can be determined in advance because traders can (usually) verify the retail price from the vendor's web site. If the company does not have an online catalogue, I'd just Google to see what a typical price would be. I'm going to post two of my lists and see if this might work. If anyone is interested in splitting, just e-mail me with your proposed trade (at least three items, listing seed vendor, variety, number of seeds in packet, and packet price). VESEYs Variety packet price (seed count) Verbena "Peaches and Cream" $4.90 (40) Plectranthrus / Swedish Ivy "Silver Shield" (2 packets) $9.90 (20) Linum Scarlet Flax $1.95 (500) Osteospermum "Sky and Ice" $2.95 (35) Mirabilis "Limelight" $2.50 (28) Hibiscus acetosella "Red Shield" $3.95 (20) Marigold "Lemon Gem" $1.50 (250) White Robe Nierembergia $2.95 (count? prob. several hundred, at 6,000 per gram. Harris lists 500 per packet) STOKES Cerastium "Silver Carpet" $1.95 (500) Delphinium Pacific Giant "Astolat" $3.50 (50) Arenaria / Sandwort $1.95 (250) Arabis "Spring Charm" Bletharophylla type $2.15 (150) Silene/Catchfly "Royal Electra" $1.95 (130 - 150) Helichrysum (Foliage type) Petiolare Minus "Silver mist" $7.15 (25) Celosia "Flamingo Feather" $1.75 (50) Brachycome / Swan River Daisy Purple $1.95 (250) - - - - - - If anyone is interested in these varieties, please e-mail me with your proposed split/swap, giving the same information. I'd appreciate a minimum of three items per trade. I'll keep the board updated on how this works out-- and when a variety is "out" (i.e. already spoken for) - Bev