The Most Exciting Time Of The Year!

Ok, perhaps that’s a little strong, but certainly the arrival of the seed orders is up there! I place my seed orders in the late summer, whilst pouring over seed catalogues and dreaming of spring. There is so much hope and joy contained within seeds. All that beauty and abundance waiting to bloom into life and be enjoyed.

Once the new packets have been unboxed, I grab the seed tin (a very appropriate Emma Bridgewater Vegetable Garden print tin), and sort through the past seasons packets. I collate them with this seasons packets into piles of what to sow now (either direct or under glass), and those which are to be sown from March onwards. This helps me plan out what to sow when and where, and if I need to buy any more seed trays etc.

I buy my seeds from Chiltern Seeds and Alma Proust. I also have some packets of free seeds which are gifted occasionally by Gardens Illustrated magazine. I’ve learned over the years what grows best in my garden, and I tend to stick with those whilst experimenting with a few different varieties.

My garden is very ornamental, but I do manage to find space for Broad Beans, as they remind me so strongly of time spent in my Grandparents garden. The scent from a Broad Bean will always take me back to those days in 1980s Suffolk.

From Chiltern Seeds I have chosen:

Five varieties of Nasturtium including Milkmaid and Whirlybird Cream. Five varieties of Poppy including Black Swan and Flemish Antique. Three varieties of Nigella including Transformer, plus Daucus Carota Dara, Eschscholzia Californica, Cosmos, Helichrysum, and Lathyrus.

From Alma Proust I have chosen:

Lathyrus Juliet, Sertaria Caramel, Zinnia Astec Sunset, Poppy Lilac Lady, Sweet Rocket Lilac Mix and Briza Maxima.

Another great thing about seed sowing season is that its gardening undercover. Even if the rain is throwing down, you can wrap up warm and take a mug of tea to the greenhouse for a productive few hours. The sense of achievement is of the wholesome and historic variety. A ritual which has been practised for centuries, and perhaps one which you observed as a child. The hand of a Grandparent cradling those precious seeds. Their calm and authoritative tone instructing you how to place those seeds within the earth. A cycle which continues long after we have gone.