Gorgeous collection of hardy annuals in shades of deep blue, primrose yellow and cool white, curated by Ellen. Sow in autumn for early spring blooms or sow in early spring for flowers all summer long.
Collection includes:
Cornflower 'Blue Boy'
Calendula 'Ivory Princess'
Ammi visnaga 'Green Mist'
Persian Cress 'Wrinkle Cress'
Cynoglossum 'Winnow Mix'
Sweet Pea 'Charlie's Angels'
Often our flower field is a sea of pink, peach and apricot shades. They are the colours we're drawn to. So we're delighted to include this apricot coloured delight in our catalogue. Along with strawflowers, they are our top dried flower for beginners because they are so productive and easy to dry down. Harvest when flowers are fully out, tie in bunches and hang upside down to dry. Sturdy flowers to work with fresh or dry.Originating from the Mediterranean, statice is extremely drought and heat tolerant. We find it an easy plant to grow, even in wet summers.Sow: Sow undercover in April or outside direct in May. Benefits from warm soil.Plant: 4 weeks after sowingHarvest: July-September. Pick when flowers are full open. Stems 60cm or longer.Vase: Can be used fresh or dry. To dry, strip off foliage, tie in a bunch and hang upside down. Flower colours will intensify.~30 seedsStaAB-00099-JNY-CGerm 85% Nov 24
Forever Happy is a lovely lavender pink statice dotted with pale yellow bracts. The yellow bracts fade after drying. Along with strawflowers, they are our top dried flower for beginners because they are so productive and easy to dry down. Harvest when flowers are fully out, tie in bunches and hang upside down to dry. Sturdy flowers to work with fresh or dry.Originating from the Mediterranean, statice is extremely drought and heat tolerant. We find it an easy plant to grow, even in wet summers.Sow: Sow undercover in April or outside direct in May. Benefits from warm soil.Plant: 4 weeks after sowingHarvest: July-September. Pick when flowers are full open. Stems 60cm or longer.Vase: Can be used fresh or dry. To dry, strip off foliage, tie in a bunch and hang upside down. Flower colours will intensify.~30 seedsStaFH-00098-JNY-CGerm 100% Nov 24
Valentine is a very handsome sunflower. Soft, primrose yellow petals surrounding a chocolate brown center. It's hard not to love it. This variety doesn't drop its pollen so you won't be wiping up pollen from underneath your flower vases. It still great for the bees though - producing pollen and nectar for them to forage.Sunflowers have earnt their name because of the way their flowers follow the trajectory of the sun over the course of the day. Although sunflowers look like a single bloom, botanically, they are actually an inflorescence made up of hundreds of little florets. There are disc flowers which make up the main central part of the flower head. These are fertile and turn into seeds. Then there are the ray flowers around the edge of the head which look to us like petals and are completely sterile. The disk flowers open sequentially from the outside in over 5-10 days. Sow: Mar-April undercover, May-June outside.Plant: 4-6 weeks after sowing at 60cm. Wait until risk of frost has passed.Harvest: Pick stems when flowers are half open. 80cm stem length.Vase: Expect a vase life of at least 1 week.Notes: Plant seedlings deep - this will help with their stability because sunflowers can grow roots from their stems. Plants can grow to 1.5m - you might need to stake them.~25 seedsSunVal-00060-MOL-OG98% Nov 24
An ethereal sweet pea with long stems and excellent scent. The flowers are a soft blue (verging on lilac) with full and frilly petals which hold their ground in an arrangement. An excellent sweet pea grown in the garden or for cutting. Grow undercover for extra long stems. Bred by Chris Hammer and introduced by Unwins way back in 1990.
Sow: Late Oct-Nov for overwintering seedlings or Valentines day to end of March. Resist sowing in the depths of winter.Plant: 20cm apart, enrich with compostHarvest: When uppermost 2 buds are closed.Vase: Expect vase life of 4-5 days.
~20 seedsSwPCA-00123-MSW-OG
Germ 90% Nov 24
An early sweet pepper that looks like a really long chilli. They produce slender, curling fruits as long as my forearm which begin pale green turning to orange then red. Eat them at any stage of the proceedings but our favourite is to pickle the still-green peppers whole with garlic and a bit of dill. The perfect kebab condiment. Or BBQ side. Or just to add a little sparkle to your packed lunch.Sow: Valentines day to end March, with heat (25C)Harvest: July-SeptemberKitchen: Pairs with savoury (olives, bacon, cured pork), aromatic (parsley, coriander, oregano, ginger), spicy (paprika, cumin, cinnamon), fats (avocado, soft cheese, eggs).Notes: Stake plants using a tripod method - they don't get very tall but branches are liable to snap under the weight of their fruit. Grow in greenhouse or similar.~20 seedsStock Ref: PepTDel-00137-WNO-CGerm 80% Nov 24
Often the best things in life are found in unlikely places. Who would have guessed that earliest and most productive pepper would hail from the warm Middle Eastern gardens of Turkey? Not us. But Turkish Dolma produces bountiful harvests of sweet, palm-sized peppers from July to September. The peppers are blocky with shiny skins which turn from green to red.Turkish Dolma has been bred to be picked green and stuffed ('dolma' is Turkish for 'stuffed) then baked. We find them very versatile peppers in the kitchen. Roast the young fruits whole and eat them seeds and all; fry them up for breakfast menemen (Turkish scrambled eggs) or let them ripen fully for the perfect snack pepper.Sow: Valentines day to end March, with heat (25C)Harvest: July-SeptemberKitchen: Pairs with savoury (olives, bacon, cured pork), aromatic (parsley, coriander, oregano, ginger), spicy (paprika, cumin, cinnamon), fats (avocado, soft cheese, eggs).Notes: Grow in greenhouse or similar. Stake plants using a tripod method - they don't get very tall but branches are liable to snap under the weight of their fruit.
~ 20 seedsPepTDma-00135-WNO-C
Germ: 85% Nov 24
Syrian oregano is a beautiful species of oregano with silvery, downy leaves which have an aromatic oregano-thyme flavour. It's the authentic herb used in za'atar and a distinctive flavour in Levantine cuisine. Rarely grown in the UK, we find it grows really well from seed, happily adapting to life in a container or herb bed.This is a perennial herb which you can expect a smaller harvest from in the first year. It will bulk out over the next few years. Cut back old growth in early spring to encourage new soft growth.Sow: March - April (at around 18C)Plant: 30cm apart in MayKitchen: The it herb for greek, mexican and italian dishes. Pairs with fats (eggs, yogurt, halloumi, soft cheese, parmesan), aromatics (basil, parsley, chives, mint, thyme), spicy (chili), acid (white wine, red wine vinegar)~0.1g/1000 seedsHrbZat-00119-CNS-CGerm 72% Dec 24
Life is about the little things and having fresh herbs on hand is a joy. Grow a pot of chives and you'll have an abundant supply. They are generous producers which will happily self seed and bulk up year on year. Your bagel with cream cheese will never be without a sprinkling of chives.Sow: Direct sow into pots March-September (undercover or outside)Harvest: Lightly harvest 12 weeks after sowingKitchen: Pairs with proteins (eggs, fish, ham), fats (avocado, cream cheese), aromatics (chervil, basil, coriander, tarragon, parsley).Note: Chives are herbaceous perennials and die down over winter. They self-sow and clumps will bulk up. You can divide them in spring.~0.25g/ 200 seedsChvHrb-00058-MOL-OGGerm 98% Dec 24
Jani is a prolific bush (dwarf) tomato which is your answer to growing tomatoes in containers. The plants reach 80cm high and have good crop of red salad tomatoes with sweet, mild flavour. Happy growing outside, and will yield well in a sunny, south-facing corner.Sow: March, with heat (25C)Harvest: July-SeptemberKitchen: Pairs with savoury (anchovies, capers, cured pork), aromatic (basil, coriander, thyme), spicy (anise, clove, chilli, cinnamon), fats (avocado, cream cheese). ~10 seedsTomJni-00024-TMR-OG88% Nov 24
The best tasting deep red tomato we've grown - a moreish balance of sweetness and acidity. Exactly as a cherry tomato should taste! A very impressive open pollinated variety, bred by Kings Seeds and awarded the RHS AGM for excellent flavour. Plants are healthy, productive and vigorous. Rosella is a vining, (indeterminate) variety which is best grown undercover, grown up strings - either in the ground or in containers.
Sow: March, with heat (25C)
Harvest: July-September
Kitchen: Pairs with savoury (anchovies, capers, cured pork), aromatic (basil, coriander, thyme), spicy (anise, clove, cinnamon), fats (avocado, cream cheese).
~10 seedsTomRsl-00038-KNG-CGerm 98% Nov 24
Sunshine yellow, golf ball sized tomatoes which are always the earliest to ripen. A great tomato to kick off the season and for areas with a cooler climate. This British heirloom dates back to 1890s and produces prodigious quantities of delicious, juicy salad tomatoes. Like all yellow tomatoes they have a mild, fresh flavour - perfect for salads.
Sow: March, with heat (25C)
Harvest: July-September
Kitchen: Pairs with savoury (anchovies, capers, cured pork), aromatic (basil, coriander, thyme), spicy (anise, clove, chilli, cinnamon), fats (avocado, cream cheese).
Notes: Potato-leaved variety - broader leaves than standard tomatoes.
~15 seeds
TomYP-00067-KNG-OG
Germ 90% Nov 24
Purple Top Milan is bred to grow fast and be eaten young. Harvest when they are ping pong sized and cook whole - skins and all. We are really happy with this selection of the variety - the roots are beautifully flattened with excellent bright violet colouring. They have a nice firm texture and well-balanced flavour. Turnips excellent way of making use of any gaps in the vegetable garden which begin to show in late summer. It's worth having a packet of seed spare just in case!Sow: Valentines day-March (undercover), July-August (direct)Plant: multisow and plant 20cm apart or sow direct and thin to 5-10cm apart.Harvest: 6-8 weeks from sowingKitchen: Eat fresh, pickled or stir fried. Pairs with acid (lemon, lime, ponzu, balsamic, wine), aromatics and spices (coriander, ginger, five spice, chilli, thyme), alliums (spring onion, garlic), fats (bacon, sesame, cashew).~1g/450 seedsGerm 97% Oct 24
Uber has all the vigour of a salad rocket with wild rocket flavour. It adds another dimension to a salad mix. Plant grow fully upright, even in winter, making them easy to harvest. It makes a flavoursome addition to salads from autumn until early spring. Leave to bolt - the flowers are delicious and provide early forage for pollinators.Sow: mid March-May & Aug-Sept (undercover or outside)Plant: densely for baby leaves, 20cm for salad leavesHarvest: 4-8 weeks after sowingKitchen: Eat fresh or just wilted. Pairs with citrus (lemon, balsamic vinegar), aromatics (basil, dill, mint) and spices (chilli), salty (capers, olives, feta), fats (blue cheese, goats cheese, pine nuts).Notes: Early sowings benefit from fleece. Sowings bolt around the solstice.~1g/500 seedsRocUb-00110-CNS-CGerm 89% Nov 24
An early spring treat for anyone who loves butterhead lettuces. Leaves are bright green, buttery soft, lightly dimpled and pleasantly sweet from growing in the cool. A key addition to my quest for a year round supply of butterhead lettuces! Harvest as a looseleaf salad mix by harvesting individual leaves or wait until for the dense heads to form in early spring.Lettuce is a very ancient crop, originally domesticated by the ancient Egyptians for its seeds and sap which were used as a pain killer and sedative. The Romans went on to cultivate lettuce for its leaves and used it as a braising green.Sow: Sept-November undercoverPlant: 4-6 weeks after sowing, plant 20cm apartHarvest: Feb-AprilKitchen: Best used in salads.Notes: Best grown undercover. To make the most out of your space, you can sow/plant 10cm apart then harvest every other plant leaving the remaining half to head up in early spring. Do not let seeds get hot when germinating. 15C is ideal, anything above 18C encourages seed dormancy.
Also available in our 'Cool Greens' winter salad seed collection. Download our Winter Salads Growing Guide to learn more about growing winter greens.
~200 seeds/0.25gLetWcp-00029-KNG-OGGerm 70% July 25
