Spring Gardens Start with Fall Planting!

See our Saratoga Seed store on Amazon.com to find late season specials on exceptional heirloom plants.

• Rare, pink-blooming Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis, var. rosea)
• Alpine wild strawberry plants (Fragaria vesca var. "Alpine" or "Woodland")
• South African False Sea Onion (Ornithogalum umbellatum)

Bee Balm "Raspberry Wine" Monarda - Live Plants!

Every garden needs to have bee balm! Nothing brings the sights and smells of summer to the garden like this plant. A favorite of hummingbirds, butterflies and all kinds of bees, this plant is very easy to grow.

This variety is one of the tallest monardas, reaching 36"-40" once established. You'll notice the raspberry tint on the leaves as well as the bloom make this varietal distinctive.

We sell live plants as 8"-10" root cuttings from last year's plants. There will be at least 2 stalk buds per root, most likely more than that. They are not picky about soil type, just amend what you've got with peat or organic material/mulch to hold in moisture. They like to keep their roots moist and their leaves dry. Water their roots, not their leaves and you'll have happy plants throughout the season. Deadheading the blooms will help bee balm keep blooming into the Fall. Leave the stalks on the plants in the Winter as a food opportunity for birds. This plant will reproduce more rapidly underground via runners than by seed. Ships to arrive in 2-3 days.

Wild Strawberry, Fragaria vesca

Want an easy, rewarding plant to grow? How about a plant with the best tasting strawberries you've ever tried?  There's a reason that fine restaurants and gourmands the world over seek this berry- it's truly better than any mega-farm strawberry grown. Berries are small, sweet, and everbearing.

Commonly called the Woodland or Alpine Strawberry, this variety is Fragaria vesca.

These perennial plants reproduce by seed and stolons.  Zones 4-7 work best. Plant in full sun to partial shade.  Prefers well draining, slightly acidic soil.  Amend sandy and clay soils with organic compost or mulch.  Currently in stock and shipping in our Amazon and Etsy stores.

Karlington at Etsy.com
Saratoga Seed on Amazon.com

Living Herbal Tea Kit

Bee balm, Feverfew and Peppermint. Make your own specialty teas from the dried leaves and flowers of these three living herbs! Each makes a delicious tea with its own merits and there are purported health benefits as well:

Bee Balm Tea: A hot or cold infusion makes a soothing beverage. Historically used for the symptom relief of colds, headaches, and gastric disorders, soothing sore throats, nausea.

Feverfew Tea: Similar to chamomile, feverfew sooths the pain of migraine headaches, reduces fevers and the pain of arthritis.

Peppermint Tea: Various healing effects, as a result of the menthol that it contains. It is said to ease such problems as irritable bowel syndrome, nausea, and headaches.

Ideas: Don't forget iced teas this time of year. Bee balm and peppermint added to a pitcher of plain iced tea will make great memories. Peppermint is also useful in Mediterranean dishes, candies, drink recipes and desserts.

Well established plants, 8-12 inches tall, are shipped bareroot for transplanting in your garden or container. These are all perennial plants, as they will come back year after year.

Growing and brewing instructions provided!  Currently shipping in my Etsy store..

Pink Lily of the Valley

Blooming now in the gardens are Convallaria majalis, common name: Lily of the Valley.  Other names for the flower are, "Our Lady's Tears" or "May Lily". Not a true lily, but it plays the part well!   Of all the plants in our gardens, this flower is my favorite. Such a beautiful flower and unforgettable fragrance. We know that Lily of the Valley is native to Europe, but there is disagreement on whether it is native to North America.  Some interesting cultivars exist, such C. albiostrata, a white blooming plant with variegated foliage.  There is the pink blooming variety, C. majalis var. rosea, as well as a white blooming type with doubled flowers.

We've grown the white, pink and variegated varieties here.  In our garden setting, it is the pink Lily of the Valley that exceeds the other varieties in naturalization, root mass, stem diameter and plant height.