Store-out
My absolutely favorite seed company, hands down, is Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Jere and Emily Gettle and their staff are the nicest folks in the world, their seeds always germinate (or if they have low-germinating seeds, they'll label the package as such). I also love their quirky seed pacakging and carefully written catalogs, their recreated historical village, and the fact that they are so darn young and yet have made a committment to something bigger than themselves.
So far, they've operated out of tiny Mansfield, Mo., but they've done so well lately that they are expanding and opening another location in Petaluma, Ca. -- where, apparently, the bulk of their mail-order business comes from. (Can you think of a better place to grow plants than a town called petal-uma?) They have purchased the historic Sonoma County National Bank Building and are renovating it and outfitting it as a garden store. Which makes me want to plan a trip to Petaluma later this year -- that's what kind of seed geek I am! --Stefene Russell
