We\u2019ve put together a list of our favourite seed suppliers, divided into flowers, vegetables and wild flowers, to give you a head start on your gardening year.<\/p>\n
The best seed suppliers in 2023<\/h2>\nWhere to buy flower seeds<\/h3>\n
Chiltern Seeds<\/a><\/p>\n The Chiltern Seeds catalogue\u00a0is always tempting with a selection of inspiring images.\u00a0Cultivar choice is excellent and descriptions always helpful.<\/p>\n Crocus<\/a><\/p>\n Since starting out in the year 2000, Crocus has become the largest gardening website in the UK with around 4,000 plants and seeds available to buy.<\/p>\n Dobies<\/a><\/p>\n As international suppliers of flower and vegetable seeds, Dobies has sold products direct to gardeners since 1894.<\/p>\n Mr Fothergill\u2019s<\/a> Gardening Express<\/a><\/p>\n Online retailer Gardening Express now sells thousands of plants and seeds every week throughout the UK and Europe. If they don\u2019t have a plant that you\u2019re looking for then they\u2019ll endeavour to get hold of it for you.<\/p>\n Great Dixter<\/a><\/p>\n If you\u2019ve visited this iconic garden, you\u2019ll have been delighted by its sheer exuberance, colour and range of plants through the season. The nursery offers flower seeds from its own stock chosen by the staff and students as notable. Seed is then harvested fresh by hand and supplied in glassine bags.<\/p>\n Higgledy Garden<\/a><\/p>\n Grower and owner Benjamin Ranyard trials a selection of flowers at his field in Suffolk. He then sells a range of seed specifically for the flower cutting patch \u2013 sometimes working with florists to ensure the best range. The Higgledy website also has plenty of growing tips and a monthly planting guide.<\/p>\n Plant World Seeds<\/a><\/p>\n Extensive range of seeds for flowers and vegetables but also trees and shrubs and grasses \u2013 many of them rare and unusual.\u00a0It ships around the world.<\/p>\n Plants of Distinction<\/a><\/p>\n A small, family-run business based in Suffolk that has built up a good range of both flower and vegetables that rivals\u00a0some of the larger, more commercial seed companies.<\/p>\n Primrose<\/a><\/p>\n Online retailer Primrose of Reading, Berkshire, has a large range of flower and vegetable seeds along with almost everything garden related.<\/p>\n Sarah Raven<\/a><\/p>\n Sarah is renowned for her carefully curated collections\u00a0of traditional flowers for her cutting garden. Her seed selection is relatively small but you can be assured that those she has included are good ones.<\/p>\n Special Plants<\/a><\/p>\n Plantswoman Derry Watkins runs a fantastic nursery in a hidden valley near Bath. Her plant selection is impeccable and you\u2019ll always find something of interest there. Added to which, she sells a range of flower seed too. Of particular note is her fresh seed.<\/p>\n Thompson & Morgan<\/a><\/p>\n Established in 1855, Thompson & Morgan has a wide range of seed for\u00a0flowers and vegetables, regularly winning awards for its offerings. You\u2019ll find plenty of choice on cultivars and good descriptions.<\/p>\n Unwins<\/a><\/p>\n Another of the big all-rounders with a wide range of seed \u2013 many offered as part of special deals \u2013 so worth keeping\u00a0an eye out for seasonal promotions. Unwins is best known for its range of sweet peas, and has an ongoing\u00a0breeding programme and extensive sweet pea trials each year.<\/p>\n Heritage Seed Library<\/a><\/p>\n Run by Garden Organic, the Heritage Seed Library is a members-only resource that offers a selection of rare, hard-to-get-hold-of, heritage vegetable seed \u2013 many of which have been lost to standard seed catalogues.<\/p>\n Jekka\u2019s Herb Farm<\/a><\/p>\n If you are growing for flavour then herbs are an essential, and probably your best guide as to which to grow is award-winner Jekka McVicar. The nursery stocks 140 varieties of herb, with notables including winter purslane as an excellent winter salad crop; summer savoury, excellent with all forms of beans and pulses; and blue hyssop for its savoury minty\/thyme flavour \u2013 and pollinator popular blue flowers.<\/p>\n Kings Seeds<\/a><\/p>\n Much of Kings Seeds stock comes from its own 300-acre farm. Good selection of vegetables and flower cultivars, including an organic range of vegetable seed. It also stocks the range from Suffolk Herbs.<\/p>\n Marshalls<\/a><\/p>\n A good all-rounder, with plenty of choice covering a range of different vegetables. The duo packs, with two complementary cultivars,\u00a0are a great way to discover more of the variety available within one vegetable type\u00a0and benefit from an\u00a0extended harvesting season\u00a0or variations in flavour.<\/p>\n Moles Seeds<\/a><\/p>\n An independent seed merchant with good selection sourced from some of the best seed producers. Anyone looking to current food trends should check the sections on crops best suited to baby leaf and microgreens harvesting. Although wholesale, Moles Seeds will supply anyone looking for larger quantities, so great for smallholding owners and gardening groups.<\/p>\n Seed Co-Operative<\/a><\/p>\n An initiative was set up on the belief that the future of food needs to be rooted in a diversity of genetics and wildlife. All seed are from open pollinated varieties, adapted to organic growing systems. Finalists in the 2017 BBC Food and Farming Awards.<\/p>\n Pennard Plants<\/a><\/p>\n A 2019 RHS Master Grower, Pennard Plants sells one of the largest selections of edible plants, heritage and heirloom seeds, fruits and herbs. All the stock is UK grown, many of it by themselves in their Victorian walled garden in Somerset. For those keen to grow their own plant protein, Pennard stocks amaranthus and quinoa seeds.<\/p>\n Real Seeds<\/a><\/p>\n Everything in Real Seeds\u2019 offering has been chosen only after trialling to check its success both in the vegetable garden and in the kitchen. All seed are open pollinated (non-hybrid) so you can collect and resow your own seed from one year to the next.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Sea Spring Seeds<\/a><\/p>\n Every vegetable cultivar has been tested before it\u2019s included in the catalogue. For 2019 it is encouraging us to try \u2018mange tout\u2019 chilli peppers. Cultivars such as \u2018Hungarian Hot Wax\u2019 and \u2018Frigitello\u2019 can be harvested small and either fried or grilled to be eaten whole in the same way as Padr\u00f3n peppers.<\/p>\n Seeds of Italy<\/a><\/p>\n Paolo Arrigo who is a passionate seedsmen has declared a climate emergency on seed biodiversity. \u201cIn just 100 years, 94 per cent of the world\u2019s heritage veg has gone,\u201d says Paolo. Franchi focuses on the remaining six per cent, promoting them for their taste and regional diversity and including cultivars from the Slow Food Ark of Taste, the register of foods at risk of being lost.<\/p>\n Suttons<\/a><\/p>\n Nice, clear website that makes it easy to find what you want from Suttons\u2019 all-round range of seeds. It also works with ethnobotanist James Wong to offer a range of vegetables and edible flower seeds that James has chosen for their focus on flavour and high nutritional value.<\/p>\n Tamar Organics<\/a><\/p>\n A good range of vegetables for the organic gardener along with helpful, clear, growing advice. Tamar Organics supports charity Joliba Trust working in central Mali to help fund horticultural projects.<\/p>\n Thomas Etty<\/a><\/p>\n Among the range of vegetables offered by Thomas Etty are 52 perennial vegetables \u2013 an option for grow your own often overlooked. Examples such as sea orach, tuberous pea, perennial broccoli and skirret are worth having a look at,\u00a0 alongside more unusual veg choices, such as the pink \u2018Roscoff\u2019 onion from Brittany with its unique flavour good for eating raw or cooked and \u2018Tall Telephone\u2019\u00a0 pea yielding eight to ten peas per large pod.<\/p>\n Chiltern seeds<\/a><\/p>\n There is always something to look forward to in Chiltern\u2019s herb and vegetable selections. This year it has included British basil \u2013 selected specifically for growing in the UK and climbing bean \u2018Cobra\u2019, encouragingly resistant to a variable British summer. Look out for beetroot \u2018Crapaudine\u2019, new to Chiltern Seeds. This is one of the oldest beetroot cultivars, carrot shaped and with an oddly rough skin (resembling its namesake derived from the French for toad). Underneath is a richly coloured flesh with superior flavour.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Emorsgate seeds<\/a><\/p>\n Run by committed botanists and ecologists to promote the importance not just of growing more wildflowers but of working with nature. Its wildflower and grass mixes are grouped by habitat, such as meadow, and then by soil type so you get the right mix of species for your area. Excellent whether you\u2019re creating a large meadow area or simply want to increase the biodiversity in your garden.<\/p>\n Pictorial meadows<\/a><\/p>\n Seed mixes for annual and perennial meadow-style planting. These were originally developed by Nigel Dunnett from his work at the University of Sheffield and are aimed to provide impact of colour and lots of nectar-rich flower<\/p>\n Seed swaps<\/strong> Wakehurst Seed Bank<\/strong> \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n By Sorrel Everton Published: Sunday, 01 January 2023 at 12:00 am Choosing and buying seeds for the year ahead is an exciting task for a gardener and during the dark days of winter when being stuck indoors is the only option, flicking through seed catalogues is a welcome reminder that spring will return.\u00a0 There are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":17990,"template":"","categories":[1,51],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"8"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/01\/the-best-places-to-buy-seeds-online.jpg",1200,628,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/01\/the-best-places-to-buy-seeds-online-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/01\/the-best-places-to-buy-seeds-online-300x157.jpg",300,157,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/01\/the-best-places-to-buy-seeds-online-768x402.jpg",768,402,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/01\/the-best-places-to-buy-seeds-online-1024x536.jpg",800,419,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/01\/the-best-places-to-buy-seeds-online.jpg",1200,628,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/01\/the-best-places-to-buy-seeds-online.jpg",1200,628,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Sorrel Everton Published: Sunday, 01 January 2023 at 12:00 am Choosing and buying seeds for the year ahead is an exciting task for a gardener and during the dark days of winter when being stuck indoors is the only option, flicking through seed catalogues is a welcome reminder that spring will return.\u00a0 There are…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/17989"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/18\/2019\/09\/GettyImages-1012026902-f3e9844.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C807"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Where to buy vegetable and herb seeds<\/h3>\n
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/18\/2019\/09\/GettyImages-1012019174-2000a2a.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C856"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Where to buy wildflower seeds<\/h3>\n
Other resources<\/h3>\n
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