By Sharon Parker
Earlier this week I wrote that Rose Nichols McGee, who owns Nichols Garden Nursery, gives garden talks “for gardeners who like to eat.” Well, Ellen Ecker Ogden, co-founder of The Cook’s Garden (www.cooksgarden.com), says their catalog is for gardeners who love to cook. But then you probably could have guessed that from the name.

In earlier editions of this catalog, the folks at Cook’s let us know that they started by growing salad greens for area restaurants, and demand led to the mail-order seed and plant operation they run now. They continue to distinguish themselves by their marvelous assortment of salad fixings; even though tangy mesclun mixes and an increasing variety of lettuces are available at most places that sell seeds, Cook’s still has more to offer for your salad than just about anybody around. That’s not based on thorough research, but it sure seems that they do, anyway. And Cook’s is dedicated to offering untreated seeds and, as much as possible, organic seeds.

For example, new this year is their seed collection for “micro greens,” which they say is the latest thing in better restaurants. The mixture includes six packets, one each of bull’s blood beet, broadleaf cress, kohlrabi logo, cutting celery, green arrow peas, and Rembrandt spinach. These are all meant to be harvested as tiny greens and served with “a light dressing of lemon juice and olive oil.” There are also pages and pages of various lettuce blends, including some that will appeal to not-so-adventurous salad eaters, and a couple of heat-tolerant mixes for midsummer salads.

A new pepper looks inviting -- it’s named Pomodoro, which is Italian for tomato, because it looks “exactly like a beefsteak tomato.” They claim it’s crisp and sweet and great eaten fresh, but, at about 4 inches across, especially well-suited to stuffing.

Of course, everything in this catalog looks appealing simply because the images are all woodcut prints; the covers are made by Vermont artist Mary Azarian, and though they don’t say whether all the illustrations are by her, they do look like they are from the same hand. A couple of her prints are for sale in the catalog.

You’ll also find seeds for edible flowers, herbs, and all the usual vegetables, plus flowers “for the vase,” and a nice assortment of sunflowers, and flower mixes designed to attract beneficial insects, butterflies, and hummingbirds.

It’s a catalog for gardeners who love to cook, watch butterflies, and page through a very attractive little handbook (about 5 by 8 inches).