Like the heralding of the holidays, they arrive earlier and earlier each year. By mid-January, seed catalogs have streamed in through the mailbox with the force of a chilly Atlantic tide. They’re a most welcomed sight during this deeply cold winter, are they not?

Selecting seed for the garden is no easy task. Temptation arrives in many forms. It’s not just the number of catalogs or the volume of offerings within each catalog that test the gardener: It’s the packaging within which the temptation arrives. Some catalogs boast glossy full-color photos of every offering. Slippery, smooth pages glide off the fingers as the gardener visually devours the pretty and delicious buffet of horticultural hors d’oeuvres.

Others are quietly and subtly alluring. Monochromatic line drawings of flowers, fruits and vegetables on newsprint pages beg gardeners to awaken their imaginations from winter’s slumber. They silently implore one to picture each delightful seed emerging from the warm soil of the garden and growing to bountiful, perfect proportions that no photo could adequately capture.

Do we love seed catalogs for their utilitarian capacity, simply as a source for purchasing those seeds necessary for propagating the garden? Or do we have a more emotional connection to them, because they allow us to dream about filling that blank slate of our springtime garden; because they embody such hope?

In addition to seeds, of course, in nearly every catalog there is a growing selection of garden gadgetry, which in winter appears the most enticing. Some of these gadgets are interesting, some seem useful, others downright silly. The catalog from Nichols Garden Nursery in Oregon offers a selection of “Garden Tools,” but the offerings are anything but ordinary. “High Yield Tomato Mulch” is reflective red plastic mulch that promises to improve plant vigor and yields up to 46 percent. The scarlet red material leaps off the page with stunning vividness. “Provides weed control, retains moisture around the plants helping reduce blossom end rot and reduces blights caused by water splashing up from the soil onto tomatoes,” the description promises.

An interesting gadget can be found on the same page. The “BovaLoop” attaches to an ordinary spray bottle and is used for reaching the hard-to-get undersides of leaves with foliar sprays. From the picture shown, it looks like an enlarged wand with which a child blows bubbles. “This udder sprayer emits a fine mist from the top of the round ring while sprayer is an upright position,” the print reads. “Great to use with liquid fertilizers, oils, organic sprays. Best used with compost tea.” Hmm. Fun.

Pinetree Garden Seeds of New Gloucester offers a comprehensive selection of garden products, from useful gadgets to gifts. Dibbles, soil scoops, seed sowers and the same red plastic mulch offered by Nichols can be found, along with steppingstone molds, garden carts, garden kneelers, gloves and a good selection of organic fertilizers, soil conditioners and organic pesticides.

For the home orchardist, Pinetree offers an interesting product: the “Orchard Mason Bee House.” The wooden block made of red cedar or hemlock has drilled nesting holes that attract orchard mason bees during egg laying. These bees are said to be more effective than honeybees in pollinating fruit trees.

One favorite nonseed catalog item can be found on page 151 of the Territorial Seed Co. catalog: bugs. Oops, I mean insects. Yes, you heard me: You may purchase insects. Insects such as the praying mantis, ladybugs and lacewings. Sold in quantities into the thousands, a variety of predatory and parasitic insects could be yours. Why would you want to buy bugs, you ask? “Ladybugs will eat over 5,000 soft bodied pests during the one-year life span,” the copy promises. “When placed in a warm location, each [praying mantis] egg case will produce up to 200 young mantises within about eight weeks.” While these predatory insects eat a large number of insects during their tenure in the garden, the catalog cautions that they don’t have the courtesy to discern the good from the bad.

Therefore, you might have some of your bought bugs eating other bought bugs. Oh well.

As the stream of catalogs wanes, pile them high on the coffee table. Spread them out and indulge the eyes in the sweet selection. Dream big and imagine wildly. Winter’s for that, you know.

Diana George Chapin is the NEWS garden columnist. Send horticulture questions to Gardening Questions, 512 North Ridge Road, Montville 04941, or e-mail dianagc@midcoast.com. Selected questions will be answered in future columns. Include name, address and telephone number.