More than just hope is taking root at the White House as its new occupants settle in.  Many feel the Obamas -- and their new ways of doing things -- represent an opportunity to bring attention to issues that have been off the radar for the past eight (or more) years.  The new food movement is just one of those issues, and now, according to the New York Times, there's a group urging the Obamas to plant a kitchen garden at the White House.

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In a previous article about growing vegetables, I described the experience of finding a few handfuls of veggies growing in my neglected garden last fall and turning them into inspired meals. It was one of those times when the opposite from what you expect happens:  After a summer of falling down on the job, I had thought I'd have too little in my garden to bother with, and instead, I found the small amounts of various vegetables available on any one day enabled me to use them in new, creative ways.  My small basket of this-and-that seemed to burst into luscious salads and dishes I couldn't have imagined before. 

My paltry garden bounty was mythology, like the Biblical story of fishes and loaves multiplying, or the Hanukkah story of a tiny bit of oil burning for eight days. It was such a remarkable experience, I knew something important was happening.  Some long-held assumption was caving in, and in its place, a new concept about myself as a gardener, a cook, and an eater, was emerging.

And then came the produce department epiphany.   

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I suspect seed catalogs have been lifting the winter-weary spirits of gardeners around the world since the first paper flyers rolled off the presses. 

In Washington State, Alvinza Gardner Tillinghast produced the first seed catalog in 1886, calling his company Puget Sound Seed Garden and, although the company changed hands at various points, the catalog continued until 1993.  (The old Tillinghast seed house is now a restaurant, appropriately called "Seeds," in La Conner.) Personally, I think the Burpee seed catalog (founded 1876) is the classic;  I imagine it arriving with its splashy cover of overflowing harvest baskets in midwest farmers' snowy mailboxes through world wars and economic hard times -- the ever-hopeful harbinger of spring, a sure sign that hope, in all its forms, is still alive.

Indeed, it's no coincidence that seed catalogs are often mailed around the winter solstice, just as the darkness envelopes us. Like colorful, twinkling Christmas lights, the pictures of rich red tomatoes, bright orange carrots with their feathery green tops, and sunny sprials of red and yellow marigolds light up the dark corners of our homes and warm the chilly places in our hearts.

Is there anything more comforting than sitting with one's favorite seed catalog in January, poring over the latest new vegetables and planning next spring's garden?  As a mother, I believe these sketch-and-scheme sessions got me through some of the most difficult winter days with young children.  Back then, it was Sheperd's seed catalog with its tender, dreamy watercolor cover that stoked the spring fire in my heart. (Renee Sheperd sold the company to White Flower Farm, but has returned to seed selling - find her here.)  It's true that you can't tell a seed catalog by its cover, but I'm still a sucker for the enchanted garden scenes on The Cook's Garden and Nichols Garden Nursery catalog covers.  

Alas, there are other considerations when shopping seed catalogs. Here are a few:

Organics & heirlooms.  For organic vegetable gardeners, the news is good these days -- almost every quality seed company now offers organic seed.  In most catalogs, organic seed choices are listed along with the non-organic varieties, and although they can cost a little more, organic seed is quickly gaining popularity. The greater the demand, the more varieties offered, and the better the price.  If you're looking for organic-only, try Seeds of Change. 

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