I do most of my seed buying, both annuals and perennials, from Johnny's Select Seeds, and also from Thompson and Morgan, although I've cut back a bit on T&M because they are a bit on the expensive side. I've also used Pinetree Seeds, Swallowtail, and have made some purchases from Park, Select Seed, and Territorial.

Two other big names in the seed business seem to be Stokes and Harris. I don't think I've bought from either, although I do get their catalogs. I always get the two confused, but one of them I find quite expensive, but one of them has a very informative catalog.

Check out Garden Watchdog before you purchase anything. It will help you decide whether you want to deal with a company. Good luck!

:)
Dee

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Watchdog (scroll down!)

For some of the more unusual perennials, try Gardens North out of Canada. They ship to the US and I have ordered from them before. There are tons of other places out there to order seeds from including eBay. It really just depends on what specific perennial seeds you want.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gardens North

I love Thompson & Morgan. They have a good selection and excellent customer service.

Thanks for the advice so far. I will check out these vendors. But, just to repeat, anybody have any experience with hardyplants.com?

Thanks

I've used several seed companies and like Diane's seeds, Prairie Moon nursery, Prairie Nursery, and Easywildflowers.com.

If you are interested in growing some native plants, Prairie Moon nursery has an extensive selection of seed for native wildflowers and grasses. Their website and catalog have great information about the species and their seed germination too. They are out of Minnesota

No experience with hardyplants.com here.

The best sources for perennial seeds include J.L. Hudson and Chiltern's (the latter is based in England), both of which have websites you can order from. Hudson is very good for natives (especially from California and the Southwest, but also elsewhere in the country) as well as exotics. Chiltern's has tremendous variety. Pinetree's offerings are limited but somewhat less expensive (lately they've raised shipping rates which cuts down the discount). Stokes is OK but offerings are again on the limited side. With Park's and T&M you're paying extra to cover their glossy color catalogs (T&M is expensive and a number of people have complained about low germination rates).

It's also good to join plant societies (like the North American Rock Garden Society) to get in on their seed exchanges.

Ebay is another source of seeds but reliability of sellers is harder to assure.

I second the recommendation to check out potential sources on gardenwatchdog.com

I've ordered from hardyplants.com. While the selection is better than most online seed vendors, their service is lacking. It took several emails and phone calls, and close to two months to get my order. So if they are the only place you can find something that you really want, and you are not in a hurry for the seeds, than go ahead and use them. Otherwise, try some of the places suggested above.

Bonnie

Chiltern's is great and has an entertaining catalog (no photos, no gloss). Once upon a time, before oil went for $140 a barrel, they'd ship free if you bought $25 of seeds. Don't know if they still do that. jelitto.com is highly reputable, though I myself have not ordered from them. I use their catalog for research. hardyplants.com worked out fine for me.

I have also bought from these guys and found them to be perfectly reasonable to deal with. http://b-and-t-world-seeds.com/sublists.asp

By the way, T&M offloads their excess to Valueseeds.com, where you'll find a minimal selection most days, but better pricing. Check back often for updated offerings.

I've ordered from Gardens North for over 10 years. Excellent, unusual perennial varieties. Good descriptions. The catalogue is very clear about what you are buying and how to start it.
I have also ordered happily from Jelitto, which has a massive selection, J.L. Hudson, Pinetree, Thompson and Morgan, most with great success. I filled my gardens at the beginning with plants from their seeds and plants from various societies and clubs.
But every year, Gardens North has varieties I've never tried before. If you are looking for unusual, this is the place.

Gardens North for me too. This is my 6th year ordering. Wish I'd discovered them sooner.

I've ordered from HardyPlants.com several times and have had great luck with germination. No complaints here.

Do you want to know the identification of the seed or do you just want seed? Our local Lowe's had a great rack of "wildflower" seed yesterday. Some packages were labeled "perennial wildflowers". The packages contained mixtures. Our local store moves such displays in and out rapidly so they may not be there long. I've no feel for how other Lowe's do their displays.

I haven't bought from Jellito, though their catalog is extensive and has included some varieties available nowehre else. At the time I considered an order, one putting-off factor was a high $$ minimum order.

I think the minimum at Jelitto's is between $50 and $75. It's a seed company for professionals and the amounts per package might be larger than the average home gardener needs or wants. But the selection is incredible. They are online if you like to browse.

Yep, I ordered from Jelitto for the first time this year. Spent about $58, which is close to the minimum (25 euros, plus shipping). So far, the varieties that are supposed to germinate quickly (including their specially treated "Gold Nugget" aconitum seed) did. The others I'll have to wait longer to see, until they've completed their warm and cold cycles...
Rob