Martha Stewart Says The Best Seeds May Not Be At Your Local Garden Store

If you're attempting to grow anything at home, whether it's more fresh fruit from store-bought tomato seeds or enough veggies to top the historic Chicago hot dog, we commend you. Not everyone has the patience to nurture all those little sprouts, or even the green thumb to bring a seed to harvest. Martha Stewart, who improves her whipped cream with quince syrup derived from her own trees, of course, has a slightly loftier recommendation for seed sourcing than the produce aisle or local nursery.

"I find that perusing catalogs from all over the world are really the nicest way to get your seeds," Stewart says in an old clip from CBS Sunday Morning (via YouTube). "When I go to, say, Paris, I go right to the Île de la Cité and to a not-so-little store called Vilmorin, and I buy every kind of vegetable seed," she says, blowing our previous admiration out of the water. Now, Vilmorin is technically, you know, a seed store. But it's French! No matter where you're traveling, bringing back seeds makes for a particularly darling souvenir. It may also test your green thumb — and your administrative prowess.

You can't just bring any old agricultural products into the U.S. — some could become wildly invasive, with almost sci-fi consequences. Well, maybe Martha Stewart could if she wanted, but the everyday traveler might want to familiarize themselves with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's seed guidance. You will likely need a permit or a phytosanitary certificate to bring your seeds back. The USDA's small lot seed permit will likely apply to casual gardeners who just want a few extra plants on their personal property.

Even once you have the permit or certificate, there will be plenty of restrictions. Tree and shrub seeds, for example, are prohibited from passenger baggage. And plenty of other seeds will still need to pass live inspection at your point of entry to ensure that they're free from pests and other invasive threats. They'll also need to be declared to customs. If you don't want to carry seeds in your luggage, you can sometimes have small quantities shipped from overseas, provided they meet USDA requirements. Either way, it's worth planning ahead so your souvenirs don't get confiscated. Once you get something like classic French radishes safely home, they make a delightful little reminder of your trip.