Lots of us spend a good part of the winter pouring over catalogues of seeds, dreaming of when the frost ends and we can go to town on our gardens. The availability of great things is incredible now compared to just a few years ago.

Native Seeds/SEARCH out of Arizona was an early influence on me when I started gardening. I loved their narrow focus and it was fun to see which things from their desert climate would adapt well to my Mediterranean climate here in the North Bay.To this day, it's one of my starting points when planning my new plot.

This year for beans I ordered Teparies, thinking that I'm so busy I'm bound to be abusing my garden and tepary beans seem to thrive on that abuse. I chose the Colonia Morelos Speckled (above). I'm hoping the speckles will be more pronounced on fresher beans. I also am trying the Paiute Mixed beans (below) that I've actually eaten and enjoyed. These seeds seem a little funky but I'm sure they'll be fine once they germinate.

I also ordered gourds and Chimayo chiles, neither of which have been succesful for me in the past, but I'm a trooper. I've recently moved to a place with cooler temperatures and a higher altitude and I'm curious to see if these make any difference.

Do you have any unusual plans?