"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands........" 1 Thessalonians 4:11

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

It's time for all of those seed catalogs to start filling

your mail box and your heart and mind with all kinds of garden ideas!
(front cover)
One of my most favorite catalogs and one that I collect just too look at from time to time is 
R H Shumway's Seeds. The catalog is like receiving an art book in the mail.
(back cover)
The front and back cover always has the most beautiful drawn and colored pictures on them.......
The inside is full of wonderful illustrated drawings of fruits and vegetables in the most delightful way!

There is such a rich history in R H Shumway Seed Company and I thought you might enjoy reading a little about it.
R. H. Shumway is the name of both a mail-order seed company, one time the largest in the world, and its founder Roland H. Shumway, most popularly known as R. H. Shumway "The Pioneer Seedsman
Shumway was born July 26, 1842 at his family farm in Kishwaukee, Illinois. By 1881, his company was expanding so the company relocated to South First street in order to accommodate larger facilities. By his death in 1925, it was the largest in the world, shipping 200,000 catalogues per year


Shumway died in Rockford on the evening of December 30, 1925 from injuries suffered after being hit by an automobile three days prior. After his death, his son Myron Shumway assumed responsibilities of the company. M. Raymond "Ray" Shumway ran the large mail-order business until he died of heart disease on March 16, 1933



In the 1980s the rights to the name were purchased and, after some effort to publicly rediscover the lines of seeds once carried, began operation, continuing to this day.
Today the R.H. Seed Company name belongs to J W Jung Seed Company.
R. H. Seed Company, as always, has maintained the same guarantee: No genetically modified seed or plants are knowingly sold by Shumway. They are defined as mechanical transfer of genetic material between genera, families or kingdoms. R. H. Seed Company sells vegetable seeds and flower seeds including many old-time and heirloom varieties
So tell me.............what is your favorite seed catalog or company?
Do you like flower seed best or vegetable?.........or perhaps both?
I would love to hear!


15 comments:

Amy @ Just Being Me said...

Oh I have never heard of Shumways. But now I have ordered a catalog from them :-) Can't wait to get it and add it to my stack of other seed catalogs. I love checking my mail this time of year :-)

magnoliasntea said...

Hi Kathleen!
Shumway's is a beautiful catalog and my favorite one, actually. I haven't ordered from them in a while, but I have to say their service is good, too. When I did order seeds from them they always put in extras for me to try. Also, I have the stainless steel asparagus pot that they used to sell. I love it!

I like both vegetable & flower seeds.
Have a great day!

Country Gal said...

A lovely post and photos ! I love our Canadian company Veseys seed . I have their 2013 addition seed catalog with both veggie and flower seeds . We are planning a raised veggie garden this year and what to put in it and what flowers for the other gardens ! I also have a garden center/ nursery I love to go to here . Spring will be here soon ! Have a good day !

Dreaming of Vintage said...

Hi Kathleen! Thanks for coming by to say hi! That Shumways catalog is gorgeous. I'll have to get a catalog from them. I love to collect old garden magazines. They're fun to look at! I'm more of a flower seed type of gal. They hubby likes the vegetable seeds.
Hugs,
Kelly

Hill Top Post said...

I don't get seed catalogs anymore, and I miss it! I remember how excited my grandmother got when hers came in the mail.

Pearl said...

Any see guaranteed to not have been genetically modified is my favorite seed.

:-)

And I love the artwork in the catalogs! I have a calendar (from 4 years ago!) and they used old crate artwork... I swear I'm going to have them framed, but they're such an odd size...

Pearl

Terry and Linda said...

Shumways has been a family and my favorite for years.

Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com

lil red hen said...

Seed catalogs arriving here too.
The artwork is fantastic; too bad the advertising tags cover part of it. They'd make great jigsaw puzzles -- ;)

icebear said...

I also like Shumway's catalog. I think i have ordered from them a few times. My favorite place is Pinetree Garden Seeds. Their catalog is not actually pretty, but it is informative. They are local to me as well, which may explain some of my partiality...lol But they really are a great company, non GMO and many heirlooms.

I tend to go for veggie seeds the most. I have been concentrating on edible landscaping with dwarf fruit trees, berry bushes and such. The way we put things together was to use weedblocking landscape fabric covered in wood mulch with borders. There really isn't any space for flowers unless i want to punch holes in the fabric. i do try companion planting with marigolds, nasturtiums, etc. but its mostly the vegetable garden now.

jennifer768 said...

Love that catalog!It is always so fun to look at and read.Hugs,Jen

Connie said...

That's a lovely catalog. I've never heard of that one before. Thank you for sharing it.

Elaine/Muddling Through said...

That IS a pretty catalog. I just bought seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, also non-genetically modified. Now I need to get them started. Hope you're getting some of this wonderful sunshine today!

The Farmers Daughter said...

I love seed catalogs. I try to pick up old ones at flea markets and antique malls, but they're getting harder to find. Your Shumways has wonderful graphics--besides the seeds!
Blessings,
Dru

A Colorful World said...

This sounds like a company I can work with! I love their history and the seed catalog looks wonderful! I'm getting excited about my garden this year!

Conni said...

I'm going to have to order one of those gorgeous catalogs!