Here are a few of the hundreds of vegetable and flower varieties offered by Home Garden Seed Association members. Many are new this year; others are old favorites. Growing from seed continues to be very popular among gardeners, which means that you may not always be able to get the exact variety you’re looking for. Peruse the websites below. With all the choices out there, you’ll be sure to find flowers and vegetables that will add to the beauty and bounty of your garden!

Eight Fantastic Flower Choices

Left to right:

Amarillo Gold Rudbeckia, a 2020 AAS winner offered by Hosstools.com, is a compact 12-18 inch plant with large sunshiny blooms, ideal for containers.

Spring Into Summer Mix is a popular and colorful meadow mix exclusive to Americanmeadows.com. It contains 45 easy-to-grow seeds of annual and perennial flowers and can be purchased in large and small packs.

Blazing Saddles Pollinator Dahlias, from Reneesgarden.com, bloom in fireworks shades of scarlet red, orange red, deep red, and red coral. Foliage is a contrasting burgundy purple.

Ornamental Edible Bicolored Shiso, also from Renee’s Garden, is unique, easy to grow, aromatic, and tasty. The 21⁄2-foot plants bloom in profusion, and leaves can be enjoyed in Asian salads, noodle dishes, and sushi rolls.

Salmon Queen Godetia, from Hudsonvalleyseed.com, is an excellent choice for the cutting garden. The flowers look fragile but hold up well in arrangements.

Lady Marmalade California Poppies, from Westcoastseeds.com, bloom in summer from an early spring direct sowing. Plants are 14 inches tall, and flowers are golden yellow with bright orange centers. (ships to Canada only)

St. John’s Fire Salvia, from Rohrerseeds.com, is a compact, bushy plant with brilliant scarlet spikes that hummingbirds love.

Scarlet Red Celosia, also from Rohrer Seeds, is a large 21⁄2-foot plant with sensational, velvety crimson cockscomb heads that grow to 10 inches wide.

Tomatoes: A Few Great Picks for 2022

Berkeley Tie-Dye, from NESeed.com, an heirloom tomato, was selected for its unique coloring and rich flavor. Fruits are 8 to 12 oz. and range from green with pink and yellow stripes to deep pink with silvery green stripes.

Beef Maestro F1, offered by Holmesseed.com, is a vigorous, indeterminate plant that bears very tasty, large beefsteak-type tomatoes over a long season. Fruits average 14 oz.

SuperSauce Hybrid, from Burpee.com, is indeterminate and disease resistant. The roma-type fruits are huge, weighing in at 2 lb. each, and can be used as slicers as well as sauce tomatoes.

Mountain Merit Hybrid, from Hosstools.com, won an AAS award for its excellent disease resistance. The determinate bush-type plant bears 8-10 oz. fruits that are a consistent deep red.

Shackelford Giant Pink, a family heirloom offered by Victoryseeds.com, produces monstrous fruits that are meaty but juicy. Carla Shackelford described how a single tomato, peeled and chopped, entirely filled a quart jar!

Dwarf Eagle Smiley, another new introduction from Victory Seeds, produces impressive yields of golden yellow cherry tomatoes, described as awesome little flavor bombs, on a plant that tops out at just 5 ft.

Moonshadow, offered by Highmowingseeds.com, is a high-yielding plant that produces multitudes of grape tomatoes that are practically black, very tasty, and resistant to cracking.

Enrosa F1, also from High Mowing Seeds, sets fruit continuously over the summer. The 12 oz. tomatoes are dense and juicy, and remarkably clean and uniform.

Vegetables For Your Patio Garden

Pot-a-peno Jalapeno Hot Pepper, a 2021 AAS winner available from Rohrerseeds.com, has a compact growth habit perfect for containers. The spicy fruits hang below the leaves, making them easy to harvest.

Veranda Hybrid Tomato, from Burpee.com, pumps out a huge and ongoing harvest of cherry tomatoes. The plant is only about a foot high and wide, ideal for a sunny deck or even a fire escape. Just pick as needed.

Mocha Swirl Sweet Pepper, from Burpee.com, makes a beautiful and tasty addition to the container garden. Striped, 4-inch fruits ripen from green and white to rich chocolate red.

Red Storm Sunflower Microgreens, from Trueleafmarket.com, are nearly foolproof – excellent for beginning growers of microgreens. Savory, nutty, and slightly sweet, they’re ready to harvest in 10 days or less.

Beautiful Peppers

DragonFly F1 Peppers, from Harrisseeds.com, are a beautiful deep purple color, ripening to red. The 3-inch fruits are thick walled, sweet, and flavorful.

Ashe County Heirloom Pimento Pepper, from Threshseed.com, offers early, heavy yields of bright red 4-inch wide peppers on a stocky 2-foot plant. Sweet and thick walled, they’re great for fresh eating or roasting.

Sahuaro F1 Pepper, from Holmesseed.com, produces 9-inch long Anaheim-type peppers on strong, sturdy upright plants. The fruits are thick walled, mildly hot, and turn red at maturity.

Sweet Heat Hot Pepper, from Trueleafmarket.com, is technically considered a hot pepper, but is at the very low end of the heat scale. Peppers are 3-4 inches long and ready to harvest in 60 days.

Salad Greens to Try

Baby Oakleaf Heirloom Lettuce, from Reneesgarden.com, forms dense 7-8 inch rosettes that look like mini bouquets. The delicious and ornamental heads are quick to mature and grow well in beds or containers.

Green Tiger Lettuce, from Hosstools.com, is an open-pollinated oak leaf lettuce that can be grown as a baby green, or harvested as heads.

Mibuna Mustard, offered by Trueleafmarket.com, is a flavorful Japanese salad green with a mild mustard flavor. It is similar to mizuna, but the leaves are smooth and pointed rather than sharp and serrated.

Oceanside Hybrid Spinach, from NESeed.com, produces baby greens in as little as 25 days. The thick, rounded, dark green leaves are mildew resistant and sturdy.

Mustards and Brassicas

Ethiopian Kale, from Victoryseeds.com, is a leafy green that is generally milder than either kale or mustard. It can be eaten as a baby green or harvested as a mature green and added to stir fries and soups.

Trevi Hybrid Cauliflower, from Westcoastseeds.com, is touted for its superior flavor and vivid color. The uniform, lime green heads offer a long autumn harvest. (sold in Canada only)

Early Giant Pak Choi, offered by Threshseed.com, is a rare variety collected in China in 1977. Heads are large and tight with ivory stems and dark green leaves, and can be harvested in as little as 40 days.

Aspabroc F1, from Harrisseeds.com (known as Broccolini® in the produce section of your grocery store) produces tender stems topped with 21⁄2-inch florets. Side shoots can be harvest over an extended period.