Richter’s Herbs – Canadian plugs and seeds, annual Ayurvedic herbs, hard-to-find perennial vegetables. I like Richter’s because they use only an engineered soil to grow their plants – no synthetic fertilizer – and run an all-organic greenhouse system. The packaging is fierce, using lots of cardboard, I make myself feel better by taking the staples out and using it all for sheet mulch in new bedding areas.

United Plant Savers – Founded by Rosemary Gladstar, stewards a selection of rare, endangered, or threatened plants like Goldenseal and American Ginseng. You become a member and have access to seed and written resources for planting, growing, and harvesting.

NEWFS – New England Wildflower Society maintains a greenhouse and nursery in at Nasami Farms and display gardens at Garden in the Woods in Framingham. This is my favorite local source for Pipevine, Black Cohosh, and Goldenseal (and more!) in larger sizes.

NEWP – New England Wetland Plants carries plugs and whips at affordable rates, this company sells small plants for reclamation efforts, so be prepared to wait for fruiting on woody species.

Russell’s – a local nursery with a relatively large culinary/carminative herb selection each year. I have suspicions that some of their seedlings (brought in from other growers) are ‘crack babies’ fed with lots of fertilizer, so I use this as a last resort if my own seeding efforts go bad in a given year.

Horizon Herbs – Rich Cecho’s place, boasting a huge selection of Aloes and cactus plants, along with live plants and seeds for many favorite medicinal, culinary, and permaculture plants.

FedCo – Maine-based company (championed heartily by herbalist and gardener Deb Soule, of Avena Botanicals in Rockport, ME), FedCo carries a wide selection of seed and tree stock, including heirloom varieties. Their potato sets are the best (Moose Tubers), and I get drip-tape irrigation systems from them as well. I love that my stuff comes in used bread bags and the packing list is checked off by hand. Down-home, wonderful service.