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Modern seed and nursery catalogs hold a great wealth of information for gardeners. They are much more than a listing of items for sale. More time should be devoted to becoming better acquainted with their contents.

Discovering seed and nursery catalogs – A good catalog – and there is hardly an end to the good ones that are available-can help you decide what particular plants are best for your garden. Many offer planting and landscaping hints to help you arrange your flower beds and shrub planting to better advantage.

Obtaining next spring’s catalogs – December is the time to acquire next spring’s catalogs. Practically all of them are now available. Sit down at your desk, look over the pages of this issue of FLOWER GROWER and drop a line to those advertisers whose catalogs interest you.

Ordering seed for winter sowing – If you did not get all your hardy annuals planted in the fall, run through the catalogs soon, make selections and order the seed for planting in February. Time is short, so get your seed now.

Planting day-lilies in late winter – In the South day-lilies can be planted right on through the winter, but late winter is better, I think, than midwinter. This is a plant rarely found in the garden stores; for a source you will have to rely mainly on nurseries that publish a listing of their varieties.

Buying Christmas gifts for gardeners – Had you thought about buying some of the packaged plants with the lovely lithographed covers to give your friends at Christmas? Almost everyone could use another rose; and December is the favorite month for planting them in the South. Or you may prefer packaged gladiolus, since their planting time is just over the hill.

Another gift idea is pruning shears – Corona and Felco are my favorites; every gardener needs an extra pair. Select the larger ones for the men and the smaller ones for the ladies.

Buying a greenhouse – Even though the South has a comparatively mild climate and many plants can be grown outdoors all year round, more greenhouses are put into use here each season. If you are planning to buy one but have not yet done so, go right ahead and set it up now. It still can be enjoyed for the major portion of the winter.

Labeling plants – As I see it, more supposedly good gardeners fall down on the matter of properly labeling their plants than on any other gardening procedure. Check your entire planting, especially the perennials, roses, shrubs and young trees, and attach labels where they are missing. Right now, while the deciduous plants are without leaves and the evergreens have stopped growth, is the best time to add labels. When ordering labels, be sure to get some extra ones. You’ll surely find need for them a little later.

Deutzia gracilis, though not new, merits more popularity in the South. It rarely grows to a height of more than 3 or 4 feet and is a neat, shapely shrub. Deutzias, blooming much later than most spring-flowering shrubs, are rarely damaged by freezes and nearly always give a good crop of bloom.

What better time than right now to explore other topics and learn more on subjects like care for house plants. Beginners and experts alike refer to us as their source for information on www.plant-care.com.