What, Why and Where to get them if you want to grow them too.
This blog post lists the varieties of fruits, vegetables and flowers I plan to grow for 2025. Some varieties are my trusted favorites and others are new-to-me this year. I have linked the sources of each seed I'm growing. If you choose to order from Pinetree Garden Seeds,
I have a discount code, SPRINGHOPEFUL15 good through March 31st, 2025 for 15% off your order.
Tomatoes:
Cherries:
I am growing the Sungold series this year. I have grown Sungold for the last few years and it is hands down my favorite cherry tomato I have ever grown. It is delicious, prolific, and relatively disease resistant in my garden.
When I found out there is a whole Sungold series I knew I wanted to try the others. Seeds n Such sells the entire Sungold series including Sungreen, Sunchocola, Sungold and Sunpeach. Shown in order below.
Pinetree also sells Sungold tomato seeds.
I'm also growing Indigo Pear Drops which I grew last year. I loved the coloring on this tomato and it was a great addition to all my salads. The flesh is firm and the taste is mild.
Slicers:
My favorite slicer tomato of all time is Cherokee Purple. To me it is the best tasting, most versatile slicer tomato. Another winner in my book is Kellogg's Breakfast tomato. Beautiful color, great taste and a great producer. I also plan on growing Green Zebra. I love a green tomato and this one has a zesty zingy flavor.
I am trialing Bella Rosa Tomato because of its description in the seed catalogue:
"Combines superb resistance to tomato spotted wilt virus with exceptional heat tolerance to make it a “must try” variety for the Deep South! Large, round, deep red, firm fruits have great tomato flavor, perfectly balancing the acids and sugars. Remarkable productivity – expect big yields."
Cucumbers:
I have a hard time growing cucumbers for some reason. I have to start them early, because between powdery mildew and pickle worms my harvest is usually quite small. The ones that have worked best for me are Burpless, Painted Serpent and Parks Whopper II.
Greens:
Greens are some of my favorite things to grow and I have lots of favorites. Arugula is a green I like to grow all year. It can handle cold weather and there are some varieties that are slower to bolt in the heat. Astro Arugula is a particularly good variety in that it is slow to bolt, does well in the colder temps and has a milder taste than other traditional arugulas. I also grow True Italian Arugula.
Other favorite greens I'm growing:
Kale - I will never not grow kale. If I could grow just one green in my garden it would be Kale. We add it to smoothies, salads, sandwiches, sauté it, roast it, make kale chips and more. I grow four varieties with consistent success. I have noticed that some varieties have too coarse a texture but these four have a softer texture. The purple moon is the coarsest of the four. Bear Necessities, Purple Moon, Red Russian, Nero Di Toscano
Lettuce -
I grow lettuce in both the spring and the fall. Timing can be tricky because lettuce doesn't stand up well to either heat or cold. I grew All Year Round Lettuce this past fall and it is the only lettuce that was able to handle a string of 8 nights in the low 20sF. I have yet to trial it in the summer to see how it holds up to heat but I'm hopeful. It tastes like all bibb lettuces taste to me. I think saying one lettuce tastes so much better than another is odd since they all really taste very similar.
I also plan on growing Cimmaron Lettuce which is a uniquely colored romaine and Red Iceberg Lettuce again for its unique coloring.
Swiss Chard:
I love growing Swiss Chard because it is so versatile. It can handle both cold and heat to a point and it can be used so many different ways in recipes. I sauté the leaves and stems with olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper. I also add the leaves to salads and this is one of my favorite recipes.
My favorite varieties to grow are shown below.
Broccoli/Cauliflower Family:
I have had much more success growing broccoli than cauliflower in my garden. While Romanesco is technically in the cauliflower family it is the one I have had the best luck growing. In addition to its beautiful and unusual appearance, it has a delicious nutty flavor that can't be compared to other traditional cauliflowers.
Green Magic Broccoli has performed the best for me. It forms large, compact heads and tastes great. After the main head is cut, side shoots will form which you can harvest. It is disease resistant to downy mildew and heat stress.
Early Jade Chinese Broccoli was new to me this past year and it earned a grow again spot. Unlike traditional broccoli the Chinese Broccoli does not form large heads and instead you eat the stems, leaves and flowering heads. It is so good. After you harvest the first stem, a second stem will form.
Peppers:
I'm reducing the number of peppers I grow this year. I have realized as fun as it is to grow super hot peppers, we don't use very many of them. I will grow a traditional jalapeno because it is the right amount of heat for so many uses. I will grow one very hot pepper, Sugar Rush Peach that has great citrus flavor instead of just being hot for the sake of hot.
For snacking peppers I plan on growing Biquinho (pronouced Beh-keen-yo) which has a tiny amount of heat, and the Habanada Pepper which has the flavor profile of the Habanero but none of the heat.
Lilac Bell and Kaleidoscope Mix are my go-tos for sweet peppers. The coloring of the Lilac can't be beat and the Kaleidoscope mix is the perfect mixture of fun colors and flavors. I particularly like the white bell pepper in that mix.
I've saved the best for last, my favorite peppers to grow, hands down are Shishito Peppers. They are not spicy, and so good when sauteed with olive oil and salt.
Flowers:
Nasturtiums are so fun to add to a vegetable garden. Plant them around the edges of your raised beds and let them trail over the side. All parts of the nasturtium plant are edible and have a surprisingly delightful spicy flavor. Salmon baby is my favorite one to grow as it is a nice peachy color instead of the usual reds, oranges and yellows that you see. (I'm not a fan of primary colors) I've also grown Whirlybird mix and Cherries Jubiliee and loved those as well.
Cosmos have grown on me as a cut flower over the years. I especially love the following varieties: Seashell, Picotee, Double Click Cranberry, Daydream, Cup and Saucers, and Psyche.
Zinnias are a staple in my garden. They do succumb to powdery mildew towards the end of the growing season but they are worth it. I have culled my zinnia varieties to just the Oklahoma series (Salmon, White and Carmine) and the Benary's Giant (Purple, Coral, Lilac, and Salmon Rose) series. Then I let the bees cross pollinate and I collect seeds to plant the following year. I no longer buy zinnia seeds and I love seeing what the bees create.
Oklahoma Zinnias:
Benary's Giant:
Celosia was new to me last year and wowza. Definitely on the always grow list now. The bees could not get enough of it and it grew so well in my heat and humidity. I did learn that pinching is important (cutting the top off the plant before it starts blooming) as the plants I did not pinch grew tree-like stems. My top choices for celosia varieties are Flamingo Feather and Texas plume.
Sunflowers come in so many more colors than your standard primary yellow. The pale yellows and whites are stunning and the jewel tones of mixes like Evening Sun are unusual and fun. This year I am growing Strawberry Blonde, Italian White, and a native sunflower, Tall Sunflower.
Marigolds are a tough one for me in that I want to plant them for their pest repelling properties, but I don't love the typical colors you see in Marigolds, (reds, oranges, yellows) For this reason, I grow white marigolds like the vanilla cream hybrid or the creamy white marigold.
Dahlias are one of my favorite flowers to grow. I am able to over-winter them in my zone 8a garden in NC. If you live in a cold area where you cannot leave them in the ground, you can dig them up, leave the dirt on, store them in vermiculite in cardboard boxes in your garage or basement. There are lots of great sources for Dahlia tubers; too many to try and name them. I did a post on which suppliers I have had great experiences with and you can find it here. If you want to try growing Dahlias from seed then I recommend these mixes.
My favorite dahlia cultivars to grow are Peaches and Cream, Rock Run Ashley, Rose Toscano, Orange Globe, and Mystique.
Calendula is both beautiful and medicinal. It is touted as having skin healing properties and you will find calendula oil in many natural skin products. My two favorite varieties to grow are Strawberry Blonde and Zeolights. I no longer purchase seeds as I let the bees cross mix the two varieties and save my own seeds each year. Another fun one is Bronzed Beauty.
Snapdragons are another of my favorite cold hardy flowers to start in the fall, plant in the winter and from which to enjoy blooms all season long. I have grown the Twinny and Chantilly Series. I save seeds each year and grow a fun mix from whatever results.
Twinny: Peach, Appleblossom
Foxglove is a cold hardy annual that is beautiful, but needs some consideration before planting. All parts of the plant are toxic to both humans and pets. In the beginning I grew one Foxglove plant and kept a very close eye on it to see if my dogs would mess with it. They did not, and I have since planted many foxglove in my yard. My kids are teenagers, so I don't have to worry about them sampling it, but if you have young ones who like to sample from the garden maybe wait till they get older to grow it.
I prefer to grow Foxglove varieties that bloom in the first year instead of the typical biennials that take two years to bloom.
First year blooming Foxglove: Foxy. Biennial Foxglove: Excelsior Hybrid (does well in shade)
Squash:
The only squashes I will grow these days are varieties that are squash vine borer resistant. These include Tromboncino (also known as Zuchino Rampicante) and other Squash in the Cucurbita Moschata amily (butternut is also in this group). Tromboncino is especially versatile in that when the fruit is young/immature it is similar to typical zucchini in both texture and flavor. As the fruit matures, its skin hardens and the squash becomes similar to winter squashes like butternut. Having one plant that can give me both types of squash is fantastic.
Another favorite SQB resistant squash I like to grow is Autumn Frost. The coloring of these cute squash is quintessential autumn so they are perfectly named. They grow well for me and taste good too. They are the perfect size for one person for a meal.
Herbs:
Most of my herbs are perennial but I grow various varieties of basil every year. These are my favorite ones to grow, Dwarf Greek Basil, Lettuce Leaf Basil, Emerald Towers Basil
Miscellaneous:
I grow luffa gourds for my kitchen sponges, but they can also be used in the shower. Young fruit is edible and the mature fruit yields the sponge like material.
Cucamelons, also known as Mexican Sour Gherkins are a fun, vining vegetable to grow. The vines produce a prolific amount of sour cucumber like fruit. They look like micro watermelons, and are great for garden snacking or adding to a charcuterie board.
Ground cherries are an unusual fruit. They grow in small husks similar to tomatillos and have a unique sweet flavor. Aunt Mollies and PIneapple are the two varieties you will see most often, but I prefer Pineapple Ground Cherries.
Edamame is a fun veggie to grow yourself. One thing to keep in mind is that they do not produce continuously all growing season, but they all mature at the same time. This behavior yields one large harvest so succession plantings are key for a continuous harvest.
My favorite Seed Companies:
Your descriptions are so helpful. I will try the squash vine borer resistant squash! Thank you.