Carmen,
If you are growing op/heirloom varieties they will grow true regardless of where you buy the seeds. Hybrids will grow true in the F1 growout and then be a mix after that. I have never paid much attention to the flowers the big box stores offer. I know they offer some open pollinated/heirloom veggies. I could list several sources I use for vegetable seeds if you are interested in growing them. As for flower seeds there will be some of the experts along that can list better sources than I can. I usually just purchase mine from the same sources I buy vegetable seeds from. I've started trying to have most of my seeds by New Years. Many seed companies have been running out the last few years due to demand. Jay

I love baker creek & sub stainable seed co. Baker has the prettiest catalog!!!! They seem to get the largest portion of my seed puraches.
Locally I get seed from Ross seed in Chickasha. Very affordable seed, much cheaper than catolog prices IMO.

I buy a lot from Baker Creek (www.rareseeds.com) as well. I also buy from Victory Seeds (www.victoryseeds.com), Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (www.southernexposure.com) and Select Seeds Antique Flowers (www.selectseeds.com). All of these companies have seeds of flowers, herbs and veggies and some of them have seeds of grain or cover crops. Select Seeds has antiques flowers and only a few veggies. If you are looking for veggie seeds, I have a much longer list of suggestions. There are many interesting flower seeds available from Swallowtail Gardens and Summerhill Seeds too.

Yes I would love a list dor veggie seeds as well. TIA

I buy mostly from Willhite Seed in TX, and Baker Creek, along with a few specialty items from Johnny's. I love the Baker Creek catalog and spend hours deciding what I am going to plant, but instead of ordering from the catalog, I go to the store in Missouri and make my purchases. Everything Baker Creek sells is open pollinated so you could save seeds from all of it.

In the last couple of years, I have bought tools and gardening 'things' from Lee Valley tools and have been pleased with the quality.

I also like Pinetree, but haven't ordered from them for a few years.

It seems that I have a pattern of ordering a couple of times a year from Willhite, making at least one trip to Baker Creek, and then ordering from one more source which I seem to rotate from year to year. I buy more seeds than I need to buy, plus several forum members feed my addiction with frequency.

I have purchased from Victory Seeds and the viability is very good even a couple years later.

Wow what a lot of great info! I was going to ask this same question so I am glad someone beat me to it. I have spent so many hours reading the Baker Creek catalogue this year. It is beautiful and the amount of eggplants, squashes etc is mindblowing! I think I will order from them in the spring.

I just wanted to let everyone know that Renee's garden (http://www.reneesgarden.com/) has a 40% off sale on all their 2012 seeds going on right now. I have ordered from them before, like Dawn I grew their bell pepper mix, and also the garden candy tomato mix, as well as many herbs (marjoram, oregano, lemon basil). The germination rate from these seeds was amazing! All but one of the bell pepper seeds germinated, even though we were planting 2011 seed in 2012. I would recommend them.

I recently found the Heirloom Seeds website (http://www.heirloomseeds.com/) and have been considering placing an order with them. They seem to be a little cheaper then Baker Creek as they have less seeds per packet I think. I do not know what their quality is like yet. If I do make an order I will let you know how their seed is. Unless anyone has ordered from them before?

I am a Farmers Co-op junkie, I love to just go in and look at everything. I do the same thing at Atwoods. When I go through a town that has one of these stores I try to stop and kill a little time. Needless to say I have more seeds than I know what to do with. It is very hard for me to resist prices like $.30 to $.50 a scoop. I think the bulbing onion seed are running about $.95 a scoop, Elbon rye is $16.50 per 50 pound bag, winter wheat $11.95 per bag. The one I was at yesterday did not have rye of onion seeds yet.

Larry

I believe I ordered from Heirloom Seeds a long time ago and don't have any specific memory of what the seeds or service were like--good or bad.

I think that overall they have had a pretty good reputation for years. However, the last couple of years there's been a rumble of some dissatisfaction with them. In 2011 and 2012 it seems like they had trouble getting orders filled in a timely manner. At this time of the year, that wouldn't be an issue if you're ordering seed now for winter and spring. However, if you're ordering for fall planting, that could be a problem.

To be fair, many companies have had trouble filling orders in a timely manner the last 2 or 3 years because they have been overwhelmed by the huge increase in orders because millions of people have taken up vegetable gardening in the last few years. That's why some of us order our seeds in fall for winter and spring planting--just to ensure we have them on time since seed-starting time rolls around pretty early here.

I cannot link the watch dog site here where people rate and review vendors because it is at a competing garden forum website, but if you were to google with the words watch dog and garden, I think you'd find it and could read the reviews of this vendor. There's also a rate and review forum here at GW and I'll link it below. You might search it for Heirloom Seeds and see if anyone has posted anything there.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rate and Review Vendors

I will add a few comments. First I have ordered from Heirloom seeds and everything was ok. Not a large order though. I've posted several times that seed source is very critical when growing open pollinated/heirloom vegetables. I have mentioned Cherokee Purple before several times. The first time I grew it the color was correct but the taste was mediocre.I said I would never grow it again. I made a comment about it on a forum and Craig LeHoullier who was the original distributor of CP said that he felt I didn't have the true CP and he sent me seeds. The difference was daylight and dark. I have saved seeds and grown from it since. I have grown it since from different sources and compared. None are as good as the true seeds he sent. I could list several more. There is several different selections of Indian Stripe also. I have seeds that came from Carolyn Male who was the major distributor. And also seeds that another grower obtained from the daughter of the man in Arkansas who grew it for years. The latter is by far the best. With that being said there is no fool proof way many times to know whether you have the real McCoy or not.

I have bought from many different sources over the last 8-10 years. And also have obtained seeds from many individual growers. I will list a few that I've had good results with and also where I've found some of my favorite varieties. Skyfire Seeds is a small operation here in KS. Certain times of the year she doesn't sell seeds. But her prices and shipping have always been reasonable and I try to support small businesses when I can. I bought seeds from Burrell Seeds in Rocky Ford, CO this year. Service is a little slow around the first of the year on some varieties but the seed had very good germination and everything grew true. They are a family business that has been selling seeds for 113 years. I grew their own onion variety and also their tomato variety. Both have done very well here for me. I buy some rare seeds from a source many haven't had good results with. I can only just the business by my results. It is Amishland seeds. Seed numbers are small but she offers some rare seeds. I only buy one time and then save seeds. Some of my favorite varieties have come from her. I have bought from most of the seed sources that Dawn listed. And overall have had good results from them. Myself and others have experienced some crossed seeds from both Tomato Fest and also Bakers Creek. I have bought from very few open pollinated sources that I haven't had at least one cross or mix up. When dealing with large amounts of seeds it is easy. So it doesn't bother me much when I find a cross. This year I could tell when I opened a seed packet the seeds were mixed. Just wasn't sure which was correct till I had grown them for a few weeks. Another source I usually buy a few from is Totally Tomatoes. They sell both open pollinated and hybrids. I like to use Native seeds when I can as I feel they serve a good cause. And have always had good results with their seeds. Many like Remy's Sample Seed shop. I have never bought anything from her. Only because there hasn't been anything she has that I wanted. J&L Gardens is another site I've bought some from the last few years. It along with Wild Boar Farms are interesting to visit even if you don't buy anything. I buy specialty items from different sources. Seed potatoes usually from Ronnigers if I don't save my own, onion plants from Dixondale's again if I don't start my own. These are some of the ones I've had good experiences with along with several mentioned above. Jay

From your original post, it seems like you were inquiring about heirloom flowers. Heirlooms can also be considered native flowers as well and many are being extirpated from their native range by farming and urban development as cities expand more and more into the tall and short grass prairies surrounding them. Habitat destruction is ranked as the most significant cause of wildlife and native plant species extinction. Additional causes of habitat destruction include acid rain, water pollution, introduction of alien species, overgrazing and overfishing.

On a personal level, I may not be able to solve these problems on a large scale, but I can provide some relief by planting native plants and providing food, water, shelter, and a place for some wildlife species to raise their young.

For one, I have a Monarch Waystation, so-called because it provides nectar plants for migrating butterflies and host plants for the Monarch female butterflies to lay their eggs on. I also provide larval host plants for other species of butterflies, berry and seed producing plants for birds, bee and other beneficial insect attracting plants.

I have purchased a few of my native plants from online native plant sources, traded and/or been given other native plants by friends I have connected with here at GW, and seeds acquired from native plant seed companies on the Internet and referred to me by my friends here on GW. Some native plants have actually come into the yard via birds who have gifted me with them, lol!

Good native plant seed companies I have used include Everwilde Farm, Prairie Moon Nursery (their seeds remain at $2 per packet after many years still), eBay sources, Easy Wildflowers, to mention a few.

For my Zinnias, I have used Hazzard Seeds, mainly because I can get a large number of seeds for a good price. Like I got a mix of the Cut & Come Again Zinnias for around $6 for 1,000 seeds. Pretty good price. They have some native seeds as well, if you are familiar with native species. I also purchased zome of my Asclepias physocarpa seeds for the Monarch butterflies from Hazzard as well. Monarchs will only use various milkweeds for larval food plants. Many of the milkweeds, despite the reference to it being a "weed" are beautiful.

Hope this helps you out.

Susan