Interesting that you're quoting the Park catalog. Park's sister company Wayside gets my vote for most creative catalog descriptions, as in

"Blooms all summer!" (actually flowers for three weeks, tops)

"Two-season appeal!!" (forgotten after mid-spring)

and so on.

Plant Delights is one of the best for intentional humor.

I think Wayside has the most "creative" (aka outright lies, or so distorted as to be laughable) descriptions too. I remember one year they were selling a favorite geranium of mine, G. sylvaticum 'Amy Doncaster', described as having beautiful blue flowers (it does) followed by "ornamental black seeds to give a second season of interest". Huh??? Perennial geraniums do have their seeds in "cranesbills", where the common name comes from, but NOBODY would plant a geranium for the ornamental value of its seeds. C'mon....
Belacamda, maybe, or maybe even a siberian iris...

Not to mention that what they send you is a little parched bareroot plant for $14.95. Or that their color photography saturates and distorts colors so much that they don't even resemble the original plant ('Johnson's Blue' ain't blue, let me tell ya, despite what the Wayside catalog shows).

David, right, I forgot about the Photoshopped flower colors in Wayside (and others). Pity the newbie gardeners expecting neon vivid blue flowers and getting...dirty pink.

Nobody photoshops like TyTy. I think it's the industry gold standard.

Here is a link that might be useful: Creative photoshopping

TyTy probably doesn't get busted for it, though... I'm guessing that whatever websites they lift those models from don't want to go near a courtroom anyway! *rolling my eyes*

I read my first Plant Delights catalog this fall, and it was the first time ever that I wanted to place an order just because I got a kick out of the catalog writer's creativity. Seriously, it was the first time I laughed at a plant catalog for any reason other than the ridiculousness of its claims.

I just went to that TyTy site! Oh my! Forget about photoshop, I've never seen a plant catalog use people in such a way! The photo above "The Giant Fuyu Japanese persimmon is juicy and plump." is umm... not sure what to use as a decription, lol!
Lot of interesting photos there like another page there is a man seductively licking his lips. I guess they want to arouse everyone who is looking, lol.
Remy

Well, TyTy has to give its customers something to look at (based on the unbelievably high percentage of consumer complaints, it isn't what arrives by mail order).

They just suffered a blow from the state of Georgia, though - the newly revised official state map has dropped the town of TyTy and other communities that were apparently too dinky to bother with.

black swamp girl,

if you enjoy the plant delighs catalog, you should try to find some old copies of the heronswood catalog -- before burpee. dan hinkley saved many of my dull boring winter days with his entertaining catalog descriptions -- i would literally laugh out loud. I sure miss his presence in the marketplace. I've kept the catalogs, just for their entertainment value.

Yes, it is absolutely true, that on the positive, nonsarcastic side of creative, nothing can match the desciptions and stories in the Heronswood catalogs from the past. I too remember laughing out loud multiple times at the stories and plant descriptions ("Lysimachia numularia aurea, size 1.5" by 10 miles" comes to mind....). There was a lot of hype yes, but NOT directed to try to persuade you to buy a plant by misrepresenting its garden qualities. We will all miss Heronswood plants -- I think I probably ordered from them over 15 years. But the catalog descriptions and stories are equally things that I will miss. Others have tried to emulate this style, notably Tony Avent at PD, also the Arrowhead Alpines catalog. But nothing even comes close to the creativity and imagination of the old Heronswood catalogs. I once heard Lauren Springer, herself a wonderful writer and speaker, describe the Heronswood catalog as "selling garden dreams". And that was what it was -- but in an imaginative, informative way, that changed the face of American gardening.

Too bad it's gone. Maybe we will still get sme good stories on Dan's web site. But I have saved all my old catalogs too. They are classics.

jxa and david, I had heard about the Heronswood catalog, but alas by the time I discovered the wonderful world of mail order garden catalogs, Burpee already owned them. :( Hmm. Wonder if I could find some old copies on Ebay or something....?

maybe, but I know I'm holding tight to mine! :-)

I sure hope someone comes along soon to help fill the huge void left by Dan Hinkley. He is a plantsman like no other.

P.S.

I noticed there's a forum for "Garden Books and Exchanges", you might find someone willing to part with their copy there . . .

A friend's mother went to college with a woman named Lulu Beaubeau (pronounced bobo) from TyTy, Georgia. Sorry to hear the state has dropped TyTy from it's maps. Now if it would just shut down TyTy Nursery.

Chiltern's seed catalog used to be a fun read - I haven't seen one in a couple of years. ForestFarm has the occasional funny one, too, but not (usually) in the way of outrageous or untrue.

"Lulu Beaubeau (pronounced bobo) from TyTy, Georgia."

You have GOT to be kidding! LMAO!!!!!!!

The photo above "The Giant Fuyu Japanese persimmon is juicy and plump." is umm... not sure what to use as a decription, lol!

The first time I ever saw that site I thought it was a joke. I thought someone had set it up for laughs because I couldn't believe the photoshop they were doing. LOL.

Chiltern's still has an excellent and entertaining catalog - and the information is reliable.

There were a few years of the old Heronswood catalogs available after the Burpee takeover for $5 each. I bought 2001 & 2005 to spread it out during the summer but that was before the rude announcement. Not sure but it is worth a try.