Seed shopping season is in full swing! Whether you plan to broadcast a few wildflower seeds in a corner of your garden this spring, direct sow veggies and herbs in your kitchen garden, or get a head start on the growing season by starting a few warm season crops indoors, we carry a fantastic selection of seeds to help you attain the garden of your dreams. Keep reading for a rundown of the seed suppliers you'll find on your next visit to the Farm — and be on the lookout for even more to be added in the coming days!

Botanical Interests

Botanical Interests is one of our largest seed suppliers, and because they work directly — and only — with garden centers like us, you won't find them in big box stores! Their focus is on providing gardeners with high quality seeds and detailed sowing and growing information to help you be successful, both on individual seed packets, and in the form of courtesy seed starting guides you'll find on our display that are free for the taking. Their offerings include many top-quality conventional and Certified Organic vegetable, fruit, herb, and flower varieties, meaning there's sure to be something that piques your interest — pun most certainly intended!

Renee's Garden

Named for founder Dr. Renee Shepherd, who is still the driving force behind their seed operation to this day, Renee's Garden is a self-described "company run by gardeners, for gardeners." They offer a wide array of non-GMO flower, fruit, vegetable, and herb seeds — both conventional and organic — that have been hand-picked by Dr. Shepherd and thoroughly vetted in their trial gardens. Among their selection of time-tested varieties and new introductions, you'll find many plants specifically selected for container culture, including so-called patio tomatoes perfect for growing on a sunny porch or balcony. And each variety is packaged with one of their signature watercolor portraits.

Deep Harvest Seeds

One of the amazing things about organic seed saving is that, over time, a strain of plants can adapt in response to selective pressures in their environment, resulting in offspring better suited to growing in the climate, soil, and disease pressures of a given locale. That's one reason we're excited to bring back seeds from Deep Harvest Farm on Washington's Whidbey Island for the second year in a row! They grow more than 140 varieties of Certified Organic, open-pollinated, and non-GMO vegetables and flowers that are regionally adapted to our growing conditions here in the Pacific Northwest, which means plants that perform better in our gardens and bolster our local food system.

Hudson Valley Seed Co.

As the name might suggest, Hudson Valley Seed Co. is based in upstate New York, where they focus on producing seeds of heirloom and open-pollinated flowers and vegetables on their Certified Organic farm. Not only do they offer many unique and hard-to-find varieties, but their packaging is as beautiful and diverse as the plants within! Each variety features a design created by one of hundreds of artists that has answered their yearly call for submissions, making each seed packet a work of art, and for that reason, we think they make great gifts!

Native Ideals

If you're looking to grow more native plants in your garden, seeds are a great, cost-effective way to just that! We source several options from Native Ideals Seed Farm in western Montana, where they focus primarily on native xeric species with low water requirements. Maintaining the naturally resilient traits of wild populations is something that's baked into every aspect of their operation, from their growing methodology to the way seeds are harvested. And while they offer many plants native to Montana, the only ones you will find at Cornell Farm are those from the overlap between our regions, so they're sure to offer food and habitat for our backyard pollinators and other wildlife.

Rhythm Seed Farm

This urban farm is located right here in Portland, and their nonprofit seed operation is rooted in their commitment to social and environmental justice. For every packet of locally-adapted seeds sold, they donate another to low-income and BIPOC communities, with the goal of fostering a culture of abundance and ecological resilience in our local food system. Rhythm Seed Farm focuses primarily on plants with edible and medicinal value, as well as flowers with particular pollinator value, which is what you will find at the Farm in our seed display.

Silver Falls Seed Company

As a family-owned-and-operated nursery with deep roots in our community, we especially appreciate getting to form relationships with other local businesses with the same values. That's just one reason we're proud to work with Silver Falls Seed Company, who operate a sixth-generation farm in Silverton, Oregon. We currently source two different seed-shakers from them that contain a mix of species: One for native wildflowers, and another for native wetland grasses and wildflowers. These are a great way to introduce a variety of ecologically important species into your garden.

Want to get started with seeds this spring? Stop by the Veranda of our Checkout Greenhouse, and our team of knowledgeable plant people would be happy to assist you with finding or picking out seeds from the suppliers listed above. And be sure to check out our Guide to Seed Starting on our blog for tips to help you on your growing journey!