How’s the seed catalog browsing going? Good? Good!
Why is it good? Because if you’ve been thumbing through your seed catalogs, now is the time to go get your favorite one and use it to take the May Dreams Gardens Official…
Endorsed by Dr. V. Q. Horfreud
To determine your personality type based on your favorite seed catalog, please look at your seed catalog and how you marked it. Did you
a) use little Post-it® note flags to mark the pages of the seeds you want to order
b) circle everything you want to order
c) dog-ear the page if there was something included on it that you want to order
d) mark everything you want to order with asterisks
e) use a combination of all of the above
f) keep a separate list of all the seeds you want to order, noting which catalog they are in, their price and the quantity so you can sort the list and determine how best to order seeds so as to get the most for your money while keeping shipping costs low enough so that your orders will not cause UPS to declare record quarterly earnings.
If you answered “a) use little Post-it® note flags to mark the pages of the seeds you want to order”, it means that you like things to be open-ended, loose and free, to have the option to change your mind, which you can do by just moving the Post-it® note to a different seed variety.
If you answered “b) circle everything you want to order”, it means that you are decisive, and perhaps a bit flamboyant, depending on how big you made the circles, and whether you used a black ink pen or a big red marker.
If you answered “c) dog-ear the page if there was something included on it that you want to order”, it means that you are eager to mark your seed choices, so eager that you couldn’t take the time to find a pen or Post-it® notes. You also tend to be a bit short sided and don’t necessarily think things through because the page can only be dog-eared in one direction so you have a problem if you also want to order something on the other side of the page.
If you answered “d) mark everything you want to order with astericks”, it means you are decisive, but not quite as flamboyant as someone who circled the seeds they want to order, unless the asterisks are really big or done in red ink.
If you answered “e) use a combination of all of the above”, it means that you are impetuous, likely to change often, and unpredictable. Really… circles, asterisks, Post-it® notes and dog-eared pages? You need to back away from the seed catalogs, breath deeply, get some counseling and then come back and try again.
Finally, if you answered “f) keep a separate list of all the seeds you want to order, noting which catalog they are in, their prices and the quantity in each packet, so you can sort the list and determine how best to order seeds so as to get the most for your money while keeping shipping costs low enough so that your orders will not cause UPS to declare record quarterly earnings”, it could mean that you like to be neat and orderly and keep your catalogs in mint condition.
It also means that no matter what you do, it would appear that you are going to order enough seeds to make those seed companies you choose have a record sales year. Forget about UPS, they probably want to deliver the seeds in person just to meet you!
Which answer fits you best?
(Please note that responses may be used by Dr. Hortfreud and other researchers from the completely fictitious Institute for Gardenetics Research and Other Work (iGrow) which is just me when I want to sound more official.)
I haven't started on the seed catalogs yet, but in other years I've been an "f". You may remember a wrote a series of posts on using spreadsheets to figure out your seed order.
Oh, most years I'm a combination of a and f, but quite often I just read the catalogs and don't do any marking other than mental and then I spend hours racking my brain trying to figure out where that particular seed was that I wanted to order.
this means that quite often I get to order more than once from the same place since I remember something else I was going to get after I put in my order. Or I am planting my garden and realize that I have no carrot seeds at all. . .
How about another option – 'let your hubby pick everything because he's the one with the obssession and you can't make decisions to save your life! Sit back and blog about it all instead….'
That's me, I'm more about the talking, photographing and eating, haha
If I order seeds I will fall into catergory 'F'. Magazines will not necessarily stay neat and tidy and the piece of paper will be folded and crumpled as it goes in and out of my pocket while I stare at it and the gardens…(hopefully it will not end up in the washing machine then I'd have to start all over again)
B & C. I fold down the corners and circle the item, if I have a writing instrument at hand.
I also answered B and C, but when it comes to the issue of pages only folding one way I have a solution for that. If I have items on either side of a page I fold the top corner one way and the bottom corner the other way.
I'm a dog-eared list maker so c and f fit me to a T. I go through catalogs, turn back the corner of pages that hold a lovely want, then return later with notebook and pen to really think selections through.
I really enjoy your garden humor!
Oh my… I'm checking off b, c, AND f. Not to mention: Reading each catalog in paper and online (because I tend to notice different things in the different formats…) then reading each one AGAIN just to be sure I didn't miss anything, keeping lists broken down by: Catalog, plant type (veg, herb, annual, perennial…) familiarity (unknown genus to look up, new cultivar of a beloved plant, old favorites) where they will be planted, AND germination requirements.
I think this adds up to: I'm insane. But happily insane!
Who says you can't fold a corner both ways?
The way I do it with seeds, and other catalogues is to put a post it note on the front cover, and then when I see something I want I'll circle it and jot the page number down on the post it note.
I have my own method – dog ear, then neon highlighter on the proposed candidate. Yes, I just have to be different.
I circle everything that I want to order.
I'mm an 'e', with the asterisks getting bigger and bigger as I go through the catalogue and get more excited. Great post, Carol!
I'm into highlighters with sticky note bookmarks to mark the pages I've highlighted. So I guess that makes me an a and b.
I guess I fit "b" most accurately. Although I use a bright pink or fluorescent orange highlighter, and I sometimes put in extra exclamation points or underline sections of the description.
Regardless, I definitely need to step away from those seed catalogs. I got myself so worked up last night that I nearly couldn't sleep obsessing about my garden and worrying about all I couldn't possibly get done in time for spring planting. 😉
My answer depends on which part of the season we're in, Carol. I'm at the C stage now, then I'll do B, and end up at F. When I get to F and realize that I will have to take on a part-time job to pay for all of these seeds and/or plow up 1/2 an acre of lawn to have room for them all, I start E–crossing out half of them!
Whoops, make that G–eliminating 1/2 of them:)
I'm the type who goes through phases. Phase one – circle everything of interest. Phase two – fold down corners of those plants of interest that make the second cut. Phase three – asterisks and unfolding some of the corners as I narrow my selections from everything to nearly everything. Finally I start making lists of what I want, what cultural conditions it needs, where it will go and how much it will cost.
Then I go online and order the best of the best and usually a few impulse buys that just look so good in the on-line catalog (especially those on-line only selections).
Lastly I look at what I ordered and wonder where am I going to put it all cause once again I over-ordered.
Ordering seeds is what I'm going to be doing this weekend. BTW I'm a b.
I'm an E, although I never ever dog-ear my catalogs. That violates my amenities. I'm currently perusing the Plant Delights Nursery catalog and wishing I'd bought more when I was there back in September.
Very fun post! You most likely have everyone pegged pretty well except you forgot to include those of us who pile them up and plan to decide. That would be me.
Umm – you can double dog-ear the page to show you're interested in things on both sides of the page 😉
I'm a combination of B – with red ink, the editor in me – and F. Of course, I'm totally indecisive this year and need to get on it!
I just call my big sister and ask her what I should order. Easiest way, straight to the chase.
I used to be an F, and have the past lists in a three ring notebook to prove it. They go back to 1988, the year my youngest child went to first grade and I was free to garden like a maniac. I now shop online, but do thumb through the paper catalogs.
Frances