Garden catalogs are more than pages and pages of pretty pictures for casual enjoyment.

They inspire you to improve or reinvent your yard.

They describe each plant down to the number of petals on the flowers or how the leaves are arranged on stems.

They also introduce you to the latest and greatest in plant development, whether it's a new color in a coneflower or a bigger and better tomato.

For 2012, Burpee's catalog introduces its Boost Collection of six nutrient-rich vegetables designed exclusively for home gardens. All were naturally bred by traditional hybridization, with no genetically modified organisms, or unwanted GMOs, according to a Burpee spokeswoman.

Here are four more catalogs, all free, worth getting because they offer a wide selection and serve double duty as educational material:

Brent and Becky's Bulbs: Always known for spectacular spring- and summer-flowering bulbs, Brent and Becky Heath have added a few perennials to their summer catalog. This year, Becky recommends a Veronica called Royal Candles with royal blue spikes that look showy in the full-sun summer border; it grows 10 to 15 inches tall and is cold hardy Zones 4-9.

To get the free print catalog, visit www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com or call 877-661-2852.

High Country Gardens: Brakelights red yucca, a plant known to be a hummingbird magnet, is a new introduction for this company, which specializes in perennials, ornamental grasses and shrubs that require little water. The yucca produces narrow strips of foliage with dark-green, grassy nonspiny leaves that are compact and evergreen. Its nectar-rich flowers keep hummers coming all summer long.

To get the free print catalog, visit www.highcountrygardens.com or call 800-925-9387.

Logee's: The cover of Logee's new catalog showcases what it does best - offers rare and hard-to-find plants like the container-grown Fukushu kumquat on the cover. Inside, the catalog profiles 68 new plants, including staghorn fern on volcanic rock, Bienvenue hibiscus with 6-inch, pink-swirl blooms, variegated Chinese violet with light pink-lavender blooms and orange lipstick plant. When you order, you get 2 1/2- or 4-inch potted plants that can go in containers or in the ground.

To get the free print catalog, visit www.logees.com or call 888-330-8038.

Niche Gardens: Niche Gardens is a retail and mail-order nursery that has found its niche in nursery-propagated wildflowers and native perennials, ornamental grasses, and unusual trees and shrubs. New plant offerings include two dwarf conifers - Chamaecyparis Snow and Nana Gracillis - that are small enough for almost any garden and also add a touch of living art as they grow.

To get the free print catalog, visitnichegardens.com or call 919-967-0078.