BEST OF THE BEST

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
Last year I was thrilled to discover Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, which sells all-natural, open-pollinated heirloom seeds. Its catalog is gorgeous, with vibrant color photos of vegetables, often life-size. It's worth ordering simply for the unbelievable selection — by my count, 196 kinds of tomatoes — and obscure ethnic varieties. Owner Jere Gettle takes a strong stance on food politics. Be sure to visit the "I Dig My Garden" forums on the Web site for lively discussions as well as tips from other heirloom gardeners. What sets Baker Creek apart is its customer service. Every order, no matter how large, costs $3 to ship, and the company throws in a free bonus seed packet, too. One of the melons I ordered last year did not germinate well, and when I called I was immediately offered my choice of a replacement or a full refund, no questions asked. That's the mark of a good company. —Carrie 

Johnny's Selected Seeds
Johnny's Selected Seeds is the first seed catalog I ever ordered from. It is an independent, employee-owned company in Maine that is committed to safe seeds. Its selection of vegetable seeds is fairly comprehensive, with organic seed offerings clearly marked. The catalog is packed with growing information, and if you can't find an answer to your question in the catalog, the company's customer service is excellent. My favorite thing about Johnny's, however, is the option to buy pelleted carrot and lettuce seeds. It makes sowing those teeny-tiny seeds in rows much easier. — Joannah

Territorial Seed Co.
We are both fans of Territorial Seed Co. You could plan an entire vegetable garden from its catalog — from fabulous-looking Yin Yang shelling beans to heirloom tomato plants. Its reasonable prices, flat-rate shipping and super-fast shipping make it a hands-down winner. The company also offers cool stuff like mushrooms and berries and an array of kitchen gizmos like Mr. Pea Sheller. —Joannah and Carrie

BONUS CATALOG

Select Seeds Antique Flowers
OK, I know we're supposed to be talking vegetables here, but sometimes you really, really need antique flowers. I discovered this when I read Select Seeds' description of Sweet Rocket: "Prized by generations past, this biennial has escaped the garden to grow quite happily in damp thickets. The epitome of an old-fashioned flower; the evening scented blooms are redolent of clove and violet. ... Marie Antoinette was enamored of the double white, and while in prison 'the concierge daily brought her bunches of pinks, sweet rockets and tuberoses, an act of gentleness for which she herself was imprisoned but eventually released.' " Even though I do not possess a damp thicket, I had to have Sweet Rocket. The selection of heirloom flower seeds and plants is intoxicating. I have ordered a number of plants from Select — the heirloom heliotropes, pinks and fuchsias are my favorites — and all have arrived healthy and good-sized. If you have a question, the staff is knowledgeable and quite happy to talk flowers. —Joannah

AND NOW FOR THE REST

White Flower Farm
I was shocked to find pictures of vegetables on the cover of White Flower Farm's latest catalog. The grande dame of gardening catalogs was finally getting its hands dirty. Well, not really. Inside the 144-page catalog, only six pages were devoted to veggies, mostly in the form of "kits." The one-pot gardening kit featured four plants — tomato, pepper, cucumber and basil — in a self-watering container for a startling $189. I ordered plants from White Flower early in my gardening days and was sorely disappointed by the price-to-plant-size ratio. Nowadays, I leaf through the catalog and toss it in my pretty but impractical file. —Joannah

The Cook's Garden
Leafing through The Cook's Garden catalog used to be one of my favorite ways to pass a winter afternoon. It was more than a catalog; lovely woodcuts by Mary Azarian accompanied poetic descriptions of gourmet vegetables, and the catalog was filled with fabulous-sounding recipes. Then Burpee bought the company and replaced all the beautiful illustrations with photos, and it now looks like any other bland, run-of-the-mill vegetable catalog. The selection doesn't seem to have changed, and the recipes are still there, but somehow, all the character is gone. —Carrie