Practically every aspect of our lives is affected in one way or another by horticulture. The food we eat, the plants we decorate our homes with (both inside and out), the flowers we use to mark special occasions -- these are all necessary components of our lives that also tell us a lot about ourselves. The Horticulture Services Division maintains a number of historic artifacts, such as seed packets and boxes and gardening tools and implements, that document how horticulture has supported and beautified the world in which we live.

Shaker gardeners in Mount Lebanon, New York are credited with having first marketed seeds in individual packets or “papers.” In the nineteenth century, seed packets were often displayed in wooden boxes that acted like a “silent salesman.” These boxes, with colorful decorative labels that were designed to catch the gardener’s attention, were left with the retailer, filled with seed packets, and replenished as needed. They were often recycled by having new labels pasted over old ones.

Nursery and seed catalogs were a vital tool for selling seeds, plants, and gardening tools a century ago, even more so than today considering that these items can now be found everywhere from home improvement stores to gift boutiques. By 1900, several hundred thousand elaborate catalogs were distributed each year to people who could not easily get to shops and nurseries. Companies encouraged buyers to purchase more wares by including plant lists, garden plans, advice on plant culture, and testimonials from successful home gardeners in their colorful catalogs.

For more information, see these Smithsonian Institution Libraries websites:

History of the American Seed and Nursery Industry and their Trade Catalogs

Biographies of American Seedsmen and Nurserymen