Primarily an ornamental plant, its beautiful olive green leaves grow on 6-foot vines. Pinetree Garden Seeds in New Gloucester is also calling attention to European and Asian seed varieties. Among them is a European asparagus named Precoce d'Argenteuil, which, unlike common asparagus, has predominantly purple heads. The New Gloucester seed company bought the asparagus seed from a company in Milano, Italy. According to Pinetree owner Dick Meiners, Pinetree is probably the first seed company in the country to offer Precoce d'Argenteuil.
New hybrids continue to appear in Maine seed catalogs.
Another trend is appearance of many specialty garden tools in seed catalogs. And this year, practically all offer fax and on-line ordering. Here are a few catalog offerings of the eye-catching sort. This year Johnny's has what it calls its all-star gourmet lettuce mix. This packet contains several varieties of lettuce that grow at about the same rate.