Seed excitement

Getting any seeds through the post is always exciting, but I was really looking forward to getting these. I am very interested in old/heirloom/heritage seeds (they ahve various names to describe them, but basically all are old, often rare, open pollinated plants), and grow a lot from both this country and the USA. Sometimes I grow them for the names, sometimes for a particular historical or other association, sometims for their unusual colouring, to keep them going, to save and share seed to spread teh possibility of a plant's survival in a world that is becoming increasingly homogeonised. I found a tiny little company on the net that grows old and/or rare Amish seeds, and tehse are the ones that have arrived. I couldn't resist sending for this lot:

Martin's Amish/Mennonite tomato
Depp's Pink Firefly tomato
Amish Sugar Snap peas
Eva's Amish Stripe Tomato
Vermont Apaloosa bean
Red Chickenheart hot chile/chilli
Amish Gnuddel bean
Amish pimiento sweet pepper
Summer Cider Apricot tomato
Mortgage Lifter tomatoBasque Sheepherder's pepper
Pretzel bean seeds

They were kind enough to send some seed of Eva's Purple Ball tomato for teh very slight delay in getting my seeds out to me, which was very kind of them. I've grown this one before, and it's a good tomato, but all the others are new to me.

I know these are all from a foreign country, but I do my bit for old British seeds too, buying unusual coloured or named varieties, or those as local to me as possible. The Martock bean is one of these, just over the border into Somerset. The HDRA (as was) does an enormously important task with its heritage seed library, and I've had some interesting things from them too. I need to re-join the organisation, though, I am lapsed LOL. I am glad to see several companies, the smaller ones operating on a much smaller commercial basis, taking the lead in preserving these varieties - each and every one of them is special, and I think it's important for the future of our gardens that they be as widely distributed and grown as possible. there is such promise and wonder encased in every tiny seed, they are truly one of nature's amazements. Looking forward to getting them in. :)