Seed buying

I’m interested to know how does everyone choose the seeds they buy?

I watch a video yesterday from gardener’s world Facebook. On how to choose seeds. It was very much aimed at new gardeners. It got me thinking. How do those of us that have been play in the garden for a while (years) choose seeds. Especially as (let’s be very honest     ) most of us have a slight problem (addiction) with seeds. 
I know seed saving and seed swaps and free seeds all help with our addiction. But when faced with one of those beautiful glossy seed catalogs and you want to buy seeds how do you choose? 

I’m not sure I can actually answer my own question     .

Well, I often see something that I fancy growing in other peoples gardens, I love a visit to a national garden scheme/ national trust garden. I also love instagram for flower/garden pics. Over the last few years I have researched british cut flower growers and looked at what works well for them.
I usually have a list that I add to as I see something that is up my street, I also have a list that has worked well for me in my garden.
I love browsing a seed catalogue but I'm generally not swayed unless its in my list/seen it growing already. Some of those photos I find very misleading.

My seeds are chosen by price, especially if they're free (but you won't be surprised by that!).
Most of the coloured catalogues that drop through the letterbox go straight in the bin. I've been bitten too many times by the retailers' hype, fancy names and photo shopped images to believe anything they say. Before I'm criticised, I have tried to stop them being delivered but they ignore me.
I like Chiltern seeds catalogue because it doesn't have photos but is educational, I learn the Latin names and their meanings and I can go to their website for more information - although, I'm not finding their new website so easy to use.
Ethical companies like Real Seeds and Franchi are my preferred retailers - if I have to spend money.
I have a few favourite varieties that I grow every year and I'll grow a few new ones each year - usually from seeds from G&G or that I've picked up at seed swaps.

I'm in the Veggie camp, low price and low P&P. I don't go for the 'brand new variety' hype. I buy to stock up on my favourites and rely on you lot to introduce me to something new through the seed swap or personal recommendation. I am a sucker for a free P&P or under a £1 a packet promotion, although those cheap seeds are more often than not the bog standard varieties I have discounted growing in the past. I treat catalogues with pretty pictures with suspicion, my attempts never turn out to be as spectacular, so I'm very often disappointed. The upshot is that I don't buy many seeds but love the seed swaps.

Another thing..........most of the new veg varieties are F1 which doesn't tempt me as I can't save seeds from them. They're also ridiculously over priced when you look at cost per seed.
To the flower growers, my apologies but I rarely buy flower seeds unless they're part of Chiltern Seeds Bargain basement or similar lucky dips.

Yes I’m in agreement 100% about which seed companies to buy from. This has been voiced many times before. What I want to know is within those companies you are happy to give your money to. How do you choose your seeds? You’ve got 15 different varieties of cosmos or peas how do you choose?
Do you go for the pretty (probably photoshopped) pictures, do you go with the not always to be believed write up. Do you go with old faithful that you’ve been growing for the last 12 years, do you try something new on a whim ?

Personal recommendation is a good start, I'll probably experiment with something new I heard about on here, but then again I too don't buy flowers. I did buy some Emilie cucumber to try on the basis of the G&G say so. Then again if it's tomatoes, I go by the description not picture.
PS I bought Bijou peas and Hunter beans because of Veggie, she's a bad influence

If, say, Real Seeds had a new variety of kale, I'd buy it as I trust that it will do what it says in the blurb.
If any of the usual mob had a new variety of kale I wouldn't touch it.
Pretty pictures of flowers don't tempt me at all. To me a Cosmos is a Cosmos, the colour doesn't matter as I don't have a colour themed garden or grow flowers to pick. Often the older, common varieties are more attractive to wildlife than the newer fancy ones. They're also cheaper.
I worry about the gimmicky names too - they seem to disguise a pre-existing variety.

I dont think the catalogue influences me at all - its just something interesting to read?

I go with something that Ive seen growing already - or read from others that its worked well for them ..but I do like to read them to see whats new etc - I will often google a variety to find out more.

I know roughly how big an area I have to grow in so I rarely buy extra seeds on a whim - i did get the chilterns mix of 10... I will grow a few to go in the garden.

Colour - I have colours that work with plants I already grow... so Im not swayed by a new variety of sweetpeas etc but this year I have bought some different colours of things that worked well for me last year. Coral fountain amaranth was amazing for me so Ive also got the hot biscuits this year which I think will go with the dahlia colours i like to grow.

Things like snapdragons -I grow F1s as they have good strong stems for cutting. Ive bought the same varieties for the past couple of years. Potomac and madame butterfly.

I don't look at price - as usually cheap seeds are bog standard varieties.

To narrow my selection for growing this year I have looked at my colour palette, the months they flower. Tried to go for an even mix of focal flowers, filler flowers and foliage/greens. Last year I was missing some small/branching/filler type flowers. So I researched those.

So before I picked up a catalogue I pretty much already had my list.

VC, I stopped all but Chilterns catalogues.. Send an email and tell them to remove you from their list.

After giving it some thought. The way I choose seeds to buy is really quiet convoluted !
I start with the pictures. Being dyslexic I’m not going to waste huge amount of time reading every description. So if the image doesn’t grab my attention. It doesn’t stand a chance.
Then I put everything into a virtual shopping basket & add them up ( usually breaking out into a cold sweat at this point!). Then I started the whittling down process ( actually reading the description, have I grown it before, do I want to try this variety, does it actually have a chance of growing here, do I really really want/need it). Then I go research it in other places. Then I go see if I can find it cheaper or at a more reputable/ responsible company. Then I buy my seeds or more likely throw the seed catalog away having wasted several very pleasant hours.