Delighted at the timely arrival of the 2012 Chiltern Seeds catalogue today. Just in time for our Christmas travels, and many a cosy night of seed selecting to follow. Chiltern’s has to be my favourite of all the seeds catalogues. There are no pics, but witty and seductive descriptions help me to envisage my perfect allotment plot and sumptuous borders for the coming year (and always tempt me to buy too many packs of seeds!). There is a huge selection of seeds available with many unusual and heirloom varieties, and there’s often a wider selection of cultivars of better known plants on offer than from other seed suppliers too. Catalogues (both flowers and veg arrive together) cost £2.00, but you will be sent a pack of seeds and subsequent catalogues for free.
All seeds are also available online (and mostly accompanied by photos too), but what I love about this slender, yet incredibly informative volume, is that it can easily accompany you when visiting gardens to help fill in gaps when discovering new plants: country of origin, cultivars available to grow, height, scent, attractiveness to wildlife, colours available and textures of leaves etc. If you wander around gardens iphone and ipad free, then this catalogue is your essential gardening companion!
