Beat the Winter Doldrums - Seed Catalogues

Joy to the world! The firest seed catalogues for 2011 arrived yesterday, which seems rather early, but most appreciated. Can there be anything that generates more anticipation than gardeners contemplating the pictoral promises so wonderfully displayed? And the Phactor has a list and he's checking it twice to make sure he knows what to buy and when. Red currents are high upon this year's list. A new location is ready, and that's good because the supply of current-cranberry jelly (a dynamite combination discovered when there just weren't quite enough currents) is running low. Temptations always run high (oh, a double fernleaf peony), but the rule is simple, there has to be a space to plant something before the purchase can be made, which is such a stupid rule, but Mrs. Phactor is trying to rein in the impulsive purchases (unless they're shoes). A considerable rear shady border area was been cleared of trashy plants last year and awaits new landscape plantings granting lots of purchasing latitude! And it's only 2-3 months away!