Each day, old friends and new are arriving in my mailbox.

We’re right in the middle of garden catalog season, and the offerings have never been better. No longer do we need to be content with cryptic descriptions of vegetable seeds, flowers and plants. Today’s catalogs have color photos, informative line drawings or interesting anecdotes. Some have recipes. Some have poetry. Most are free.

Here’s a selection of some interesting catalogs. Please contact me if there’s one that I’m missing that you love.

A free Burpee seed catalog is available by calling (800) 888-1447. The Web site is www.burpee.com

Write Heronswood Nursery Ltd., 7530 N.E. 288th St., Kingston, WA 98346, for its 2005 catalog, which costs $5. Going through the Heronswood catalog is like ready a wickedly funny novel. If you haven’t seen one before, indulge. The Web site is www.heron-swood.com

Reach Thompson & Morgan by writing T & M Inc., P.O. Box 1308, Jackson, NJ 08527-0308. You can also call (800) 274-7333 for a free catalog or you can go online to www.thompson-morgan.com

For open-pollinated or heirloom varieties, contact Seed Saver’s Exchange, 3076 N. Winn Rd., Decorah, IA 52101 or Seeds of Change Organic Seeds, P.O. Box 15700, Santa Fe, NM 87506-5700.

Potato connoisseurs might want to write for a catalog and potato grower’s guide from Ronnigers Seed Potatoes, P.O. Box 307, Ellensburg, WA 98926. They offer dozens of varieties of new, heirloom and European strains of potatoes.

Garlic lov-ers are in luck. Filaree Farm, 182 Conconully Highway, Okanogan, WA 98840 offers some 450 types of garlic from all over the world.

Tomato Growers Supply Company is all about tomatoes. Someone had to do it. For a free catalog, write to the Tomato Growers Supply Company, P.O. Box 2237, Fort Myers, FL 33902. You can telephone the company at (888) 478-7333 or check out its catalog online, www.tomatogrowers.com

Joy Creek Nursery in Scappoose offers a catalog for a nominal fee. Call (503) 543-7474 or write Joy Creek Nursery, 20300 N.W. Watson Road, Scappoose, OR 97056.

Oregon favorites Nichols Garden Nusery and Territorial Seed have new catalogs out. Get copies by contacting Nichols Garden Nursery, 1190 N. Pacific Highway, Albany, OR 97321, www.gardennursery.com and Territorial Seed Company, P.O. Box 158, Cottage Grove, OR 97424-0061.

Territorial has recently taken over the Abundant Life Seeds business from the Abundant Life Seed Foundation. You can get a copy of the catalog by writing ALS, P.O. Box 157, Saginaw, OR 97472-0157. The Web address is www.abundantlifeseeds.com

Also for gardeners west of the Cascades, Ed Hume Seeds offers vegetable, fruit and flower varieties especially suited to the challenges of wet, cool, maritime conditions: Ed Hume Seeds, P.O. Box 1450, Kent, WA 98035.

Maine’s Johnny’s Selected Seeds offers many varieties suitable for growing in our maritime region. The address is JSS, Foss Hill Road, Albion, ME 04910. The Web site is www.johnnyseeds.com

Vesey’s Seeds of Prince Edward Island, Canada, offers lots of lovely cottage garden seeds and other specialties. Write Vesey’s Seeds, York, Prince Edward Island, Canada, COA 1PO. The Web address is www.veseys.com

Shepherd’s Garden Seeds specializes in gourmet vegetables and features lovely descriptions and drawings. The catalog is available by writing SGS, 30 Irene St., Torrington, CT 06790. The Web site address is www.shepherdseeds.com

Renee’s Garden is a seed company that also features gourmet vegetables and tasty recipes and descriptions. You can get a catalog by calling (888) 880-7228, by writing 7389 W. Zayante Road, Felton, CA 95018 or by going online to reneesgarden.com

John Scheeper’s Kitchen Garden Seeds, P.O. Box 638, Bantam, CT 06750-0638, also offers a lovely catalog with yummy recipes from the Chef’s Collaborative and helpful tips from Barbara Damrosch.

Very pretty, and full of very expensive plants it is, but the White Flower Farm is still a bathtub read. Make that an hour-long bath with the door locked. You will want to look these photos over uninterrupted. Write White Flower Farm, P.O. Box 50, Litchfield, CT 06759 or call (800) 503-9624.

The only thing better than the Heirloom Roses catalog is a visit to St. Paul’s Heirloom Roses, south of Portland, in late spring or early summer. The catalog is available at the Web site, www.heirloomroses.com, or by calling (800) 820-0465.

Bluestone Perennials offers liner size perennials for less than the cost of a 4-inch pot and is popular with wholesale and retail growers and gardeners. For a catalog, write 7211 Middle Ridge Road, Madison, OH 44057 or call (800) 852-5243. The Web site is www.bluestoneperennials.com

Although I’ve never heard of Kurt Bluemel Inc., a writeup by Fran Sorin, a garden writer for IVillage, is intriguing. According to Sorin’s piece on the IVillage site, Bluemel helped to introduce perennial grasses into the U.S. market long ago. She loves his plants. The catalog is available by calling (800) 498-1560.

The Gardener’s Supply Company, 128 Intervale Road, Burlington, VT 05401, carries a wide variety of organic insect and animal controls, fertilizers and supplies. Gardens Alive! also offers some of the same. Its address is 5100 Schenley Place, Lawrenceburg, IN 47025. The phone number is (513) 354-1482 .

Brent and Becky’s Bulbs is a well-regarded bulb catalog. The owners offer spring-, fall- and summer-blooming bulbs. The Web address is www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com or you can write for a catalog from 7900 Daffodil Lane, Glouster, VA 23061. The telephone number is (804) 693-3966.

Cathy Peterson belongs to the Clatsop County Master Gardener Association. “In the Garden” runs weekly in Coast Weekend. Please send comments and gardening news to “In the Garden,” The Daily Astorian, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 or online to peterson@pacifier.com