Green-fingered friends will love receiving gifts of seeds this Christmas
It’s always fun on a blustery November day to browse through seed catalogues and dream of what you might grow next year.
It’s convenient to pick up packets in your local garden centre or supermarket, and the selections are usually tried and tested varieties that will give good results.
However, if you are hunting out something more unusual you may need to order online or by post.
Even if you’re not thinking about buying, just exploring what’s available is a great way to learn about different varieties and species.
A new discovery for me was
Chorizema diversifolium, a wonderful evergreen shrub that produces hot pink and orange flowers all winter.
It does need a frost-free zone so will have to be grown in a conservatory in colder regions. This is available from online seed shop specialplants.net, a garden and nursery run by Derry Watkins near Bath.
Derry is author of two books on greenhouse gardening and has introduced many plants from her trips to South Africa and beyond.
The result is a collection of unusual plants from all over the world and she has a particular fascination for those with very dark foliage and