My garden is literally buzzing with the sound of spring today: the birds are chirping, the bees are humming, and the spring flowers are blooming. Summer will not be far behind – and, here in northern Arizona, that means I need to start sowing seeds in the garden next month! This year, I have sourced my aromatic seeds from various trusted resources and in this post, I am sharing my thoughts about them with you.

Floret Flower Farm for Aromatic Flowers

I discovered the magic of Floret Flowers through a mutual Facebook friend, and I have followed their stunning Instagram feed for the past year. I was truly inspired by this family-owned business and the beautiful flowers they grew on their farm in Skagit Valley, Washington.

Last Fall I bought some narcissus, anemone, and tulip bulbs for my garden and they are just starting to push through. So, early this year, I ordered some of their aromatic seed offerings, inlcuding traditional cottage garden flowers such as stock, sweet pea, larkspur, and phlox, in addition to flowering tobacco, nasturtium and sunflower.

Floret seeds are not organically certified – but if you are looking to support a family-owned business and want some truly inspirational, aromatic flowers in your garden, look no further. Browse their Instagram feed for verification and inspiration!

Botanical names are included on seed packet descriptions.

For further information: Floret Flowers.

Botanical Interests® for Aromatic Herbs

Last year, I bought most of my aromatic herbs, flowers, and vegetable seeds from Botanical Interests®, located in Oregon. You may be familiar with this brand of seeds, as I have found them on the seed rack of my local garden center, too.

What I love most about Botanical Interests® is the amount of information contained both on the outside and inside of their seed packets! They are a mini-booklet on the plant itself. With descriptions, tips on sowing, what to expect and when, you can’t go far wrong even as a beginning gardener!

Some seeds are organically certified and some are heirloom seeds, but even those which are not, appear to be of high quality – all seed packets claim to be untreated with no GMOs. You can find all of your popular herbs and more from this company: Marjoram, basil, peppermint, oregano, rosemary, sage…the list goes on and on. I will not list all of the seeds I bought from Botanical Interests® except to say – there were many!

Botanical names are included on seed packet descriptions.

For further information: Botanical Interests®.

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange for Organic Herbs and Flowers

I discovered Southern Exposure Seed Exchange this year because I was looking to grow sweet potatoes and this was one of the few companies which I could find that offered them. Sweet potatoes aside, this company offers “heirloom and organic seeds from a cooperatively run business.”

I found some old-fashioned cottage garden varieties such as hollyhock, larkspur, and nictionana, in addition to calendula, echinacea, feverfew, and St. Johnswort.

Some botanical names are included on seed packet descriptions, whereas others are not provided.

For further information: Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.

Strictly Medicinal® Seeds (Formerly Horizon Herbs) for Hard-to-Find Medicinal Herbs

This southern Oregon business is also family-owned and operated and has been operating for many years under the name Horizon Herbs; it recently changed its name to Strictly Medicinal® Seeds.

As well as familiar-sounding herbs, I also discovered some less familiar-sounding herbs, and harder-to-find herbs, with this company. I invested in the following seeds from Strictly Medicinal® Seeds: Mountain arnica, aromatic aster, bergamot (bee balm), borage, cornflower, elecampane, gardenia, helichrysum, clary sage, and stevia.

Many seeds are organic, although you need to read individual descriptions. Botanical names are included on seed packet descriptions.

For further information: Strictly Medicinal® Seeds.

A Healing Garden with Aromatic Flowers and Herbs

These are just my favorite recommended aromatic seed suppliers for this year. I am already investigating others for next year! All of them supply more than just aromatic seeds, but these were the ones I was specifically looking to list in conjunction with this post.

However big or small your garden is, aromatic herbs and flowers can form a part of it, to bring pleasure and healing into your life! To learn more, don’t miss out on my NAHA webinar in April on A Healing Garden in Your Back Yard. See you there!

References:

• Author is a 20 year veteran in the health care and aromatherapy industry, an aromatherapist, a budding aromatic gardener, a photographer, a published author and editor in aromatherapy, an approved education provider for the National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy (NAHA), an aromatherapy business consultant, scent formulator, an aromatherapy school program coordinator, and Chief Editor for the NAHA Aromatherapy Journal.