A chance to buy some very rare seeds. This seed is a cross between Cynoglossum ‘Firmament’ (blue, pictured) and ‘Mystic Pink’ (rose, pictured).
Expect mostly blues with the chance of some surprises in soft rose and lilacs. We love Cynoglossum because it flowers so abundantly, attracting incredible populations of bees to your garden.
Sow: Valentines day to end April. Darkness aids germination.Plant: May, after risk of frost has passed.Harvest: June-October. Pick a quarter of flowers on stem are open.Vase: Tips are prone to wilting. Pick in the cool and if stems wilt, sear the stems. Submerge cut edge in boiling water for 10 seconds then return to cold water.Notes: Cynoglossum self seeds.
~1g / ~200 seedsGerm 71% Aug 25
A bullet-proof cut flower with a strong 'cocktails-on-the-beach' vibe. Salmon pink, bright orange and soft yellow all on one stem - sounds OTT but somehow it's just right. Our selection of 'Orange Wonder' has a mix of bright colours as well as plants with more muted colouring. This joyous plant has become a firm farm favourite, brightening up our summer with flowers from June to September. It's fantastically easy to grow and is short-lived perennial so one sowing will give you flowers for a good few years. Bumblebees love snapdragons so it's a must-grow if you'd like to attract more to your garden.Sow: Valentines day to end of March or Sept-Oct for overwintering. Broadcast in seed trays and prick out (seeds are very small)Plant: 20-30cm apartHarvest: For longest vase life harvest when only 2 or 3 flowers have opened.Vase: Expect vase life of a week or longer.Notes: Overwinters best in free-draining soils. ~50 seedsGerm 68% Aug 25
A total stunner. Papery blooms start off a deep shade of fuchsia before mellowing out to a silvery rose. An elegant colour which looks beautiful fresh or dried. A brilliant cut flower which can be used fresh but comes into its own when dried. Pick at the height of flowering, bind together in generous bunches and hang them to dry upside down and the colour will intensify. You'll have colourful blooms to brighten up the house and take you through the winter months and beyond. There's a reason this is known as the 'everlasting flower' and 'immortelle'!Helichrysums are Australian natives which are very robust and drought tolerant.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 half open. Stems 80cm 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.0.25g / ~300 seedsGerm 72% Aug 25
Lacey, magenta leaves which are more refined than similar varieties available such as 'Purple Frills' and 'Ruby Streaks'. A stalwart salad mustard for cut-and-come again winter salads. The young leaves are mild, becoming more peppery as the plant ages. Slugs and snails tend to leave this variety alone - perhaps because of its unique leaf shape. The young leaves are mild and become more spicy as they age and spring approaches.
As with most of the salad greens in this catalogue, their use in the UK can all be traced back to the godmother of Grow Your Own, Joy Larkcom. Her book 'The Salad Garden' originally published in 1987 is a seminal work on the subject. Her careful recommendations are both tasty and decorative, as she puts it, salad vegetables which 'feed the body and the spirit'.Sow: mid March-May & Aug-Sept (undercover or outside)
Plant: densely for baby leaves, 20cm for salad leaves
Harvest: 4-8 weeks after sowing
Kitchen: Eat fresh or stir fried. Pairs with citrus (lemon, lime, ponzu), aromatics and spices (turmeric, ginger, five spice, chilli), alliums (spring onion, garlic, garlic chives), fats (sesame, cashew).
Notes: Early sowings benefit from fleece. Sowings bolt around the solstice.
Also available in our 'Cool Greens' winter salad seed collection. Download our Winter Salads Growing Guide to learn more about growing winter greens.
~1g/450 seeds
81% July 25
We love 'Bronze Queen' for its unusual deep bronze flowers which dangle daintily from the stem. Nicotiana are stately, long stemmed plant which look like they should be difficult to grow. But they're not. Keep the plants well picked and one sowing will keep you in flowers all summer long. Nicotiana are moth pollinated flower so are a brilliant flower to incorporate into a pollinator friendly garden.Sow: March to April. Needs light to germinate. Broadcast in seed trays and prick out (seeds are very small)Plant: 30cm apartHarvest: For longest vase life harvest when a third of the flowers are open. Expect stems of 80cm which feel sticky to touch.Vase: Expect vase life of a 10 days
~100 seeds
Germ 68% Oct 25
Salmon rose is a beautiful variety with flowers ranging from rose pink, through to salmon pink and apricot blush. Warm autumnal hues which look great fresh or dry. A brilliant cut flower which can be used fresh but comes into its own when dried. Pick at the height of flowering, bind together in generous bunches and hang them to dry upside down and the colour will intensify. You'll have colourful blooms to brighten up the house and take you through the winter months and beyond. There's a reason this is known as the 'everlasting flower' and 'immortelle'.Helichrysums are Australian natives which are very robust and drought tolerant.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 half open. Stems 80cm 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.
0.25g / ~300 seedsGerm 79% Aug 25
A dusky red butterhead for spring, summer and autumn cropping. Forms satisfying, compact heads with outside leaves tinged red, fading to a lime green heart. Suited to spring, summer and autumn cropping and holds an RHS AGM for summer cropping on account of it being slow to bolt. 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: Feb-May undercover, May-July outside. Stagger sowings for continuous supply.Plant: 4-6 weeks after sowing, plant 20cm apartHarvest: Feb-AprilKitchen: Best used in salads.Notes: 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. Do not let seeds get hot when germinating. 15C is ideal, anything above 18C encourages seed dormancy.
~200 seeds/0.025gGerm 97% Sept 25
A productive salad leaf and stalwart cut flower rolled into one. Wrinkle Cress grows quickly and abundantly, adding pep to your salads from autumn through to spring. As the days lengthen, plants throw up shoots full of tiny white flowers which gradually transforming into graceful seed heads. The seed heads can be picked when glaucous green or when dry and silvery. They are super versatile - an easy way to add texture to late summer and autumn arrangements. Use fresh or dried.
Sow: mid March-May & Aug-Sept (undercover or outside)
Plant: direct sow or plant 10-20cm apart
Harvest: Salad leaves 4-8 weeks after sowing. Cut seed heads when the uppermost flowers have faded.
Kitchen: Eat fresh in winter and early spring salads. Pairs with citrus (orange, lemon, lime), aromatics and spices (coriander, ginger, five spice, chilli), alliums (spring onion, garlic), fats (sesame, cashew).
Vase: Expect fresh seed heads to last for a week.
~1g / 400 seeds
Germ 97% Oct 25
A tasty Chinese mustard with brightly coloured stems ranging from purple to fuchsia to baby pink. Leaves are shiny with serrated edges, coloured vivid green or deep burgundy. A colourful addition to baby salad mixes but also tastes great cooked.Vivid choi is slow to bolt, cold hardy and versatile in the kitchen. A good choice for home gardeners looking to grow delicious greens you can't buy in the shops.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, braised or stir fried. Pairs with citrus (lemon, lime), aromatics and spices (coriander, ginger, five spice, chilli), alliums (spring onion, garlic, garlic chives), fats (sesame, cashew).Notes: Early sowings benefit from fleece. Sowings bolt around the solstice. Long harvest period, particularly over winter - you'll have greens from October into spring. Cool weather and plant maturity bring out the purple and pink colouring.
Download our Winter Salads Growing Guide to learn more about growing winter greens.~1g/450 seeds
Germ: 97% July 25
The best tasting perpetual spinach out there - sweet, tender, verdant green leaves on slim stems. Verde da Taglio is an easy-to-grow Italian heirloom which is perfect for gardeners who want to make the most out of their growing space. A couple of sowings will provide you with year-round greens. This is one of our favourite greens in the catalogue - we grow it every year without fail.Sow: April (undercover) & July (outside or undercover) for continuous supply. Plant: 4 weeks after sowing, or sow direct.Harvest: Baby leaves in 6 weeks, big leaves in 8-10 weeks. Harvest outside leaves.Kitchen: Eat baby leaves raw and cook older leaves - steam, sautee, or braise. Cook stems a little longer than leaves. Pairs with acid (lemon, balsamic vinegar, lime), fats (goats cheese, walnuts, coconut milk, butter), salty (olives, feta, parmesan), aromatics (chilli, nutmeg, dill, fennel, thyme).1.5g / ~75 seedsGerm 82% July 25
Ratio is a short, well branched broad bean which is our pick for small vegetable gardens. It was a top performer in our container growing trial of 2024 and its bushy habit makes it perfect for anyone who wants to avoid staking their beans. The pods are shorter-than-average (much like the plants) and the beans are plump and delectable.This is an all-round brilliant variety specifically bred for organic growing conditions by De Bolster in the Netherlands. Sow: Valentines day - May direct 20-30cm apartHarvest: June - JulyKitchen: Steam or sautee. Pairs well with alliums (garlic, onions, shallots), fats (butter, feta, smoked fish, bacon), aromatics (mint, dill, parsley, chilli).Notes: Keep an eye out for black fly and nip the growing tips off at the first sign of invasion.~30 seedsGerm: 92% Oct 25
Carentan is an old European leek variety with stout, thick stems and a beautiful mild flavour. Mentioned in Vilmorin-Andrieux's 1883 book 'Les Plantes Potagères', this variety is a selection from the 'Très Gros de Rouen' leek. With its roots in the Norman city of Rouen, Carentan is an heirloom variety very well adapted to cool summers and grey skies.
This is a winter hardy leek, plan to harvest it October-January. We recommend leaving a few leeks in the ground and letting them flower - the pom-pom flowers bring in so many pollinators.Sow: April-May undercover or outside. Sow thickly in a seed bed. You can make a seed bed in open soil or use a crate/large pot filled with a multipurpose compost.Plant: May-June. Separate leek seedlings and trim roots and leaves by two thirds. This makes it easier to plant the leeks. Dib holes 20cm apart. Place 1 leek in each hole for big leeks, 3 in each hole for baby leeks. Do not recover with soil.Harvest: October-JanuaryKitchen: Almost as versatile as an onion. Slow cook to bring out sweetness or roast, barbecue & grill whole to add another flavour dimension. Pairs well with acid - lemon, white wine; fats - butter, cream, yogurt, cheese; aromatics - chervil, chives, tarragon, thyme.~1g/350 seedsGerm 92% Jul 25
Smooth, round crimson roots with a good crunch. They look particularly beautiful sliced into rounds, pure white flesh contrasting with the bright red skin. They taste best pulled straight out of the ground, soil rubbed off on a trouser leg. Eat from marble sized, all the way to the size of a ping pong ball. You'll be surprised at how big the roots can get without getting spongy or spicy. This variety has a particularly long harvest window and is resistant to downy mildew. Sow: February (undercover) until May. Sow little and often.Harvest: 4 weeks from sowing, longer if sown early.Kitchen: Raw, pickled or braised. Pairs well with fats (melted butter, aioli, sour cream, yogurt, walnuts), aromatics (rosemary, anise, thyme, dill, mint), citrus (lemon).4g / ~275 seedsGerm: 89% Aug 25
A loose heading broccoli which tastes divine - sweet & succulent stems completely devoid of the sulfurous flavour found in standard calabrese. Piracicaba (from Brazil) is a heat tolerant variety which can be grown right through the summer. The first mini broccoli head is followed by tonnes of side shoots. A great variety for small gardens because you get so many harvest from one plant.
Also a great one for market gardeners - read all about it here: https://growingformarket.com/articles/piracicabaSow: March-April (undercover or outside with fleece or cloche)Plant: May, 60cm spacingHarvest: Nov-Dec Kitchen: Roast or steam. Pairs with acidic flavours (lemon, balsamic vinegar). fats (bacon, ham, blue cheese, parmesan), nuts (hazelnuts, walnuts, chestnuts), aromatics (parsley, thyme).Notes: Plant deep and firm plants in very well to avoid toppling.BrcPir-00146-WNO-C~100 seedsGerm85% Aug 25
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 96% Sept 25
A fruity mix of baby pink, cherry red and deep plum flowers on strong stems. Also known as pincushion flowers, these are some of the sweetest cut flowers you can grow. They are loved by pollinators and make a handsome, naturalistic addition to your garden.Sow: Mar-May or Sept-Oct for overwintering seedlings. Undercover or outside depending on soil conditions. Lightly cover seed - needs light to germinate.Plant: 30cm apartHarvest: Harvest when flowers are just starting to open or harvest seed heads. Expect 60cm stem length.Vase: 5-7 days picked fresh.~50 seedsScaTBM-00105-JNY-CGerm 67% Aug 25
An unusual rocket variety with deep green, broad leaves which aren't lobed like standard rocket varieties. It is slower growing and slower to bolt than more vigorous alternatives such as 'Victoria'. A substantial, peppery leaf for salads harvested between autumn and spring.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.
Download our Winter Salads Growing Guide to learn more about growing winter greens.~0.5g/250 seedsGerm 92% Jul 25
Not the most exotic sounding lettuce on our list but Maureen is as reliable as they come. Bred to outperform the standard Little Gem type in resistance to downy mildew and seasonality. Bright, fresh green, compact hearts which are equally at home in a crisp Caesar salad as they are braised with bacon and peas.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: Feb-May undercover, May-July outside. Stagger sowings for continuous supply.Plant: 4-6 weeks after sowing, plant 20cm apartHarvest: Feb-AprilKitchen: Best used in salads.Notes: 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. Do not let seeds get hot when germinating. 15C is ideal, anything above 18C encourages seed dormancy.~200 seeds/0.025gGerm 87% 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 seedsGerm 98% Sept 25
Mibuna is your answer to home grown greens from autumn to early spring. Gentle peppery flavour that is hotter than Mizuna, milder than Golden Frills. The leaves are elongated and flex backwards, making a small well for salad dressings to sit in. They are a deep, healthy green colour.Mibuna originated from the Mibu region of Kyoto City in Japan, where it was bred from a mizuna hybrid. It's been cultivated from 1804. Use Mibuna as you would Mizuna - a baby leaf salad, a stir fry green or wilted in ramen. In Japan its mixed with kombu (an umami flavour-rich seaweed) and chilli to make a quick salty pickle called asazuke. A crisp, spicy, umami flavoured side dish - exceptionally moreish.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, pickled or stir fried. Pairs with citrus (lemon, lime, ponzu), aromatics and spices (coriander, ginger, five spice, chilli), alliums (spring onion, garlic, garlic chives), fats (sesame, cashew).Notes: Early sowings benefit from fleece. Sowings bolt around the solstice. Long harvest period, particularly over winter - you'll have greens from October into spring.
Download our Winter Salads Growing Guide to learn more about growing winter greens.
~1g/450 seedsGerm 96% July 25
A crisp, green Batavian type with a hint of an iceberg lettuce about it (in the very best way possible). Leaves are sweet in flavour and well-savoyed so they hold a salad dressing well. Can be grown for cut and come again baby leaves or as a heading lettuce.Lettuce is a very ancient crop, originally domesticated in Africa 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: March-July for harvests into autumn. March-April undercover, May outside. Four sowings across the year will have you eating plentiful salad leaves year round if you harvest by picking leaves off the stem.Plant: 4 weeks after sowing at 20-30cm spacing.Harvest: 8 weeks after sowingKitchen: Crisp - perfect for a shredded with red cabbage and red onion for a kebab-style salad.Notes: Do not let seeds get hot when germinating - 15C is ideal, anything above 18C encourages seed dormancy.~200 seeds/0.25gGerm 97% Jul 25
Biscuit brown, upright seed heads perfect for late summer and autumnal arrangements. Use fresh or dried. A statuesque plant which makes great food for foraging birds come autumn.
Amaranth is a big sturdy plant, growing up to 1.5m tall - you might need to stake it.
Sow: March-May undercover
Plant: 4 weeks after sowing
Harvest: Expect flowers July-Sept. Pick stems when tassels begin to extend. Stem length of 1m.
Vase: Strip foliage, expect 7 day vase life. To dry, strip off foliage, tie in a bunch and either leave in a bucket to dry or hang upside down. Keep out of direct sunlight.
~0.25g/375 seeds
Germ 90% Aug 25
Ivory Princess is the most refined calendula out their with its primose yellow petals and chocolate brown centers. This selection is a mix of soft yellows with the odd flash of lemon zest. They have nice long strong stems even when grown outside making them great cut flowers as well as edibles.Pot Marigolds are one of the most rewarding flowers to grow from seed. You'll have flowers all summer from a single spring sowing. They'll also self seed, giving you more flowers next year.Sow: September for overwintering seedlings. Sow undercover or outside Mar-May, depending on soil conditions.Plant: 4 weeks after sowing at 30cm.Harvest: Expect 50-60cm stem length, longer if grown inside.Vase: Pick when flowers are half open for best vase life of 5 days.~ 30 seedsCalIvP-00095-JNY-CGerm: 78% Aug 25
Golden Frills is a vigorous variety, producing an abundance of lacy, golden-green leaves. A stalwart mustard for cut-and-come again winter salads. The young leaves are mild, becoming more peppery as the plant ages. I find slugs and snails tend to leave this variety alone - perhaps because of its unique leaf shape. Harvest the yellow flowering tips too - they're spicy and sweet.Golden Frills, along with a lot of the popular Asian greens, was popularised in the UK by the godmother of Grow Your Own, Joy Larkcom. Her book 'The Salad Garden' originally published in 1987 is seminal. Her careful recommendations are both tasty and decorative to 'feed the body and the spirit'.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 stir fried. Pairs with citrus (lemon, lime, ponzu), aromatics and spices (turmeric, ginger, five spice, chilli), alliums (spring onion, garlic, garlic chives), fats (sesame, cashew).Notes: Early sowings benefit from fleece. Sowings bolt around the solstice. Long harvest period, particularly over winter - you'll have greens from October into spring.
~1g/450 seedsGerm 87% Aug 25
Discover the best seeds to sow in March for a thriving UK garden! Spring is the perfect time to start off vegetable, herb, and flower seeds for a bountiful growing season. Think bountiful salad greens, abundant tomatoes and chillies, profuse sweet peas and marigolds. Our carefully selected seeds are ideal for early spring sowing - whether you have a windowsill, greenhouse or a patch outdoors. Shop now and start sowing!
