So many seeds, sow little time!
Order now to ensure you’re ready to spring into action the second the weather warms up
THINKING about sowing seeds is probably the last thing on your mind at the start of the New Year, but now is the time to place an order so you are ready to get growing when the weather warms up in the spring.
Getting your hands on seeds early will ensure you don’t miss out on a much sought-after variety, and taking delivery of a batch of packets will give you time to arrange them in order, so that you never miss a sowing date.
Yet choosing what to grow can be tricky. Flick through mail-order nursery catalogues and you’ll be confronted by hundreds of traditional varieties, along with lots of tempting new lines.
Several of 2015’s newcomers are truly groundbreaking, such as a climbing courgette with golden fruit, and a nasturtium with unique splitpetalled flowers. Other introductions may have larger blooms, better disease resistance or provide larger yields than existing varieties.
To help you with decision-making, I’ve picked my favourites from this year’s fresh faces, many of which I saw at their best, or even tasted, when I visited the headquarters of some the country’s leading seed companies last summer.
Scores of new flowers are available, but for my money the star turn has to be Nasturtium ‘Phoenix’ (£2.49, 25 seeds, Thompson & Morgan, thompson-morgan.com). Unlike other nasturtiums that have roundish blooms, this is the first to have distinctive split petals in fiery shades of red, orange and yellow.
Breeders at Thompson & Morgan have spent a decade developing ‘Phoenix’, after being sent a few seeds from a plant discovered in a customer’s garden. As a bonus, this has flowers that exude a perfume similar to daffodils.
The crimson and pink flowers of sweet pea ‘Jimelda’ (£2.45, 20 seeds, Mr Fothergills, mr-fothergills.co.uk) are carried on 6ft-tall stems throughout summer. This subtly scented variety has been named in honour of actor Jim Carter, who plays butler Carson in Downton Abbey, and his actress wife, Imelda Staunton. Both are keen gardeners and fans of sweet peas.
If you’re looking for perennials, check out Gaura lindheimeri ‘Sparkle White’ (£2.99, 15 seeds, Thompson & Morgan). This clump-forming plant produces 12in-tall spires of white, starry blooms that open in late spring, several weeks before traditional gauras strut their stuff.
Other outstanding plants include Digitalis minor ‘Majorca’ (£2.95, 15 seeds, Plant World Seeds, plant-world-seeds.com), a tiny foxglove with white flowers, and Anthriscus sylvestris ‘Golden Fleece’ (£2.95, ten seeds, Plant World Seeds), whose airy sprays of tiny white flowers rise above clumps of golden fern foliage.
There are some head-turning new bedding plants too. Marigold ‘Konstance’ (99p, 100 seeds, Thompson & Morgan) possesses the weather resistance of a French marigold with the larger flowers found in African types. The red, double flowers are held on 14in stems. ‘Berries & Cream’ (£2.39, ten seeds, Mr Fothergills) is a winter-flowering pansy mix in shades of purple and cream, while Salvia ‘Scarlet O’Hara’ (£1.85, 70 seeds, King’s Seeds, kingsseeds.com) has 12in spikes of dazzling red flowers.
Elsewhere, there are some cracking new vegetable and herb varieties to get the tastebuds going. ‘Shooting Star’ (£2.49, eight seeds, Thompson & Morgan) is claimed to be the world’s first-ever climbing courgette with golden fruit. Its unique upright habit – most scramble across the ground – means it can be grown in pots, making it perfect for those with smaller gardens.
Several other vegetables come in equally unique shades. Cauliflower ‘Di Sicilia Violetto’ (£3.99, 25 seeds, Suttons, suttons.co.uk) is a heritage variety from Sicily with stunning purple heads, while tomato ‘Orange Slice’ (£2.89, ten seeds, Mr Fothergills)g produces huge fruit that are thet colour of a high-visibility safetys jacket. And carrot ‘Night Bird’B (£1.95, 200 seeds, Plant WorldW Seeds) is the darkest carrot I’ve ever seen, with near-black skin surrounding a white core. Originating from the US, coriander ‘Confetti’ (£1.99, 300 seeds, D. T. Brown, dtbrownseeds.co.uk) sets itself apart from other members of the family thanks to its distinctive frilly leaves. Most corianders have a reputation for running to seed quickly, but this is slow to bolt and is less susceptible to weather damage.
Another herb worth seeking out is Basil ‘Lemonade’ (99p, 150 seeds, Thompson & Morgan) – the leaves have a delicious citrusy kick.