Seed catalogs and next year's gardens

The seed catalogs have started to arrive.  I look forward to dreaming of perfect vegetables and flowers, just as they are in the pages of the catalogs.  It is hard to imagine what the ground holds with a new blanket of white covering the soil in my backyard.  I can still see the kale plants with their droopy heads in the back of the vegetable garden.  They will probably be the first things I will get a few leaves off of as the weather warms and they resume growth.
I wish I had room for potatoes in my yard.  Unfortunately, the space is too small and they do not like black walnut roots.  I am not going to give up my beans and peas for what promises to be a small crop for the space.  I will continue to get those from the farm market.
I will soon have to pull out my seed box and inventory what I have leftover from last year.  So many things will do just fine the second year from storage.  I grew parsnips this year and have some leftover seed from 2012.  I have read this is one seed that is worth the new purchase every year.  Germination falls off considerably with this crop.
Jung Seed Company is a Wisconsin based catalog which I am going to give a bit more business to this year.  I have been happy with their seeds, but they tend to be more generous than I need for my small plots.  I may have to work out a seed exchange with someone else to avoid the excess.  Their stores are not too far from places I travel.  I have made stops and bought off the rack.  I tend to buy more than I need on impulse purchases.
Pine Tree Gardens has been a good source for seed as they tend to have fewer seeds with a lower price.  This last year had a less reliable germination rate than years past, even with the new seed.  Not sure what happened there.
I also plan on sitting down with my oldest daughter this year to do a bit of planning.  She and her fiance are planning a small wedding, much to the displeasure of extended family members who will not be invited to attend.  She would like me to do the flowers.  I was shying away from the prospect, but was inspired to give it a go after watching an episode of Growing a Greener World.  They talked about buying local and organic flowers.  I had done this for a niece several years ago on a little bit larger scale.  I think I can do this for my daughter.  A fall date presents a bit of a challenge to plant things that will make it through a possible frost and be blooming their best.
Enjoy the perfect garden that can only be a dream of winter. Make lists and then narrow the choices to what will work in your yard.  The time is now to really enjoy the planning.