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Useful links for seeds and plants

Tracking down elusive seeds and plants

It’s often hard to know where to get advice or buy plants and seeds, so here’s my pick of the best useful links for seeds and plants.

Specialist nurseries

Roses

  • David Austin Roses: Combining the much-loved forms and fragrances of old roses with the sought-after repeat flowering of modern varieties, www.davidaustinroses.com.
  • Peter Beales Roses: Gorgeous fragrance, robust growth, and disease resistance are the key to these modern classics from expert growers, www.classicroses.co.uk.

Useful links for seeds and plants – Perennials

  • Beth Chatto: Rare and reasonably-priced perennials – search by conditions, from one of our most inspirational gardeners, www.bethchatto.co.uk.
  • Bide-A-Wee Cottage: Mail-order service or direct from the nursery when open. National Collection of Centaurea. Grown on site near Morpeth, Northumberland, www.bideawee.co.uk.
  • Birkheads Secret Garden: A Garden nearly 700ft high in rural Gateshead. No mail order, visit from March-Sept, good coffee shop, www.birkheadssecretgardens.co.uk.
  • The Botanic Nursery: Family-run nursery with a great selection and the national collection of foxgloves, www.thebotanicnursery.co.uk
  • Heucheraholics: Billed as ‘for the hopelessly addicted…’, gold-medal-winning Heucheras, Heucherellas, Tiarellas, and Pulmonarias, www.heucheraholics.co.uk.
  • Hooksgreen Herbs: Chelsea gold medal winners, stock a wide range of culinary, medicinal and scented pot-grown herbs and seeds, www.hooksgreenherbs.com.
  • Northern Ark Nursery: Hardy perennials and shrubs, many, unusual varieties, grown peat-free and on-site in Longhorsley, near Morpeth, Northumberland. Excellent selection of home-grown herbs and regulars at Hexham, Alnwick and Morpeth Farmers’ Markets, northernarknursery.co.uk. Open by appointment only.
  • Plantagogo: Multi-gold medal-winning experts in Heuchera, Heucherellas, Tiarellas and hardy perennials,  www.plantagogo.com
  • Thorncroft Clematis: They stock an amazing range of Clematis, but there are lots of other climbers for sale on the website too, www.thorncroftclematis.co.uk.
Useful links for seeds and plants
Abyssinian red banana, from Plantbase

General

  • Crocus:  ‘Designer’ plants often presented in colour-themed packages; interesting and unusual sundries, www.crocus.co.uk

Vegetables

Gardeners Kitchen: Pesticide and organic young vegetable and herb plants in 9cm pots and a plug vegetable range, www.gardenerskitchen.co.uk

Tropical

Plantbase: From temperate plants to tropical, the nursery stocks 1,800 different varieties, with more than 350 stocked only by them in the UK. Some available mail order, www.plantbase.co.uk

Useful links for seeds and plants
A batch of seeds from the Garden Press Event

Seeds: the big boys (and girls)

Echium Blue Steeple
Echium Blue Steeple, taller than the greenhouse, from Plant World Seeds

Useful links for seeds and plants – More unusual seed suppliers

  • Simply Seed: Good selection and prices, www.simplyseed.co.uk
  • Plant World Seeds: Rare and unusual seeds from all over the world – fantastic varieties of tomatoes, www.plant-world-seeds.com
  • The Real Seed Catalogue: Kitchen garden specialities, heirloom varieties for the home gardener, www.realseeds.co.uk
  • Sea Spring Seeds: Chilli specialist run ‘by gardeners, for gardeners’ – sells the Dorset Naga Chilli, www.seaspringseeds.co.uk
  • W. Robinson & Son: Suppliers of mammoth vegetable seeds for exhibition and plants, www.mammothonion.co.uk
  • Plants of Distinction: Specialist veg and flower varieties, heirloom and rare seeds, www.plantsofdistinction.co.uk
  • The National Vegetable Society: The experts’ recommended seed and seed potato suppliers, including exhibition varieties, www.nvsuk.org.uk
  • Kings Seeds: Vegetable (including organic), herb and flower seeds, strong selection of sweet peas, www.kingsseeds.com
  • Franchi Seeds of Italy 1783: The oldest seed company in the world, naturally supplying the best of Italian produce, www.seedsofitaly.com
  • Seed Parade: Heirloom and rare varieties – minimum packaging, low postage, www.seedparade.co.uk
  • Jungle Seeds: Rare, unusual and the downright bizarre – including Passiflora erotica, one of the world’s rudest fruits, www.jungleseeds.co.uk
  • Higgledy Garden: Lovely, stylish seeds and cut flowers, plus great blogs from owner Ben, www.higgledygarden.com
  • Growseed: Mostly veg seeds, each variety that is sold online has been successfully grown in Growseed’s gardens or allotment sites. If there is a seed variety you want and don’t see it, contact www.growseed.co.uk.

Useful links for seeds and plants – Gardening forums

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