Seed catalogs litter my desk. They are my favorite form of literature this time of the year. I browse them all, but I make seed lists from only three or four of them. The short list of catalogs chosen for orders is different each year.

In early January the seed lists are long. I pick flowers and vegetables with little regard for whether I have a place for them or time to grow them. It is easier and more fun to make a generous list and weed it, than it is to list only those I know I will buy.

There are fewer nursery catalogs because I buy fewer trees and shrubs. The lists are short. The cost of trees and shrubs tempers the enthusiasm for experimentation. Their permanence and space requirements cause one to give each purchase much thought.

The first seed order is always for the seeds that must be started in January. Most of these seeds are for perennials that are started early in the hope of getting a few blooms the first year.

Seed catalogs have migrated to the Internet. All I have checked are interesting. None have been as soul satisfying as a good catalog.