Sponsored Seeds
Variety | Type & Description | Sponsor |
Agapanthus | Blue | Audrey Hillis |
Allium | christophii | P.Broad |
Allium | sphaerocephalon | Bella & Olex Molloy |
Aster | Ostrich Plume | Mrs I.Huttner |
Aubergine. Black Beauty | 1875. rich, lustrous, purple/black. Fruits are broad and thick with a most attractive flavour. | Steven Valentine; Kip Katesmark |
Basil | Sweet green | Richard Ford |
Bean, broad | The Sutton | Ian Morton |
Bean, dwarf. Monk’s Belly-button | Yellow form of Nun’s Bellybutton with black marking on the hilium. Also known as St Esprit Jaune. | Rupert Hambro; George Menna |
Bean, dwarf. Nun’s Belly-Button | Semi-climbing. Listed in 1879, so named because of a purple mark on the hilium which (it is said) resembles a certain part of a nun’s anatomy | Prudence Lynch; Francis Cherry |
Bean, kidney. Lazy Housewife | Established by 1810. Said to have originated in Bucks County Pennsylvania but probably taken there by German settlers. | Jane de Lasti; George Nissen |
Bean, runner. Painted Lady | The RHS believe this runner bean existed as long as 1633. Known in the 1800s as ‘York and Lancaster’ as the flowers are both red and white.’ | Jane Nissen; Fanny; Martin Clayton |
Bean, runner | Red Rum | Sarah Edwards |
Bee balm | Monarda or bergamot to treat vomiting, diarrhoea and colds. Also as mouth wash. Adds flavour of Earl Grey tea. | Christine Edwards;Gabrielle Hogan; Margaret Orr Deas |
Beetroot, Bull’s Blood |
| Eric Bowman |
Beetroot. Mr Crosby’s Egyptian | Also called Early Wonder due its prompt appearance. Reputed to be less coloured than most. 1865 | Ruth Keattch; Caroline Wood |
Bean, runner | Red Rum | Sarah Edwards |
Brussel sprouts | Fillabasket | Richard Ford |
Brussel sprouts | Bedford | Richard Ford |
Cabbage, Early St John’s | A cabbage of Savoy. Called an ox-heart, and ‘very prompt’ | Rupert Hambro |
Cabbage, Wheeler’s Imperial | Dwarf cabbage raised by a far from modest Mr Wheeler before 1849. ‘The best for autumn sowing and planting to stand the winter’ | John Branczik |
Cauliflower. Mr Perkins Leamington | Pronounced by all who have seen it as ‘the finest broccoli in cultivation’. 1873. | Fiona |
Chamomile |
| Robert Rendel |
Chamomile, Creeping | To make a chamomile bench. Relieves hyperactivity in children, and used to treat sunburn and haemorrhoids. | Jon Scott-Francis; Dai Davies |
Chamomile, Lawn |
| Bozenna Ochocki |
Clove Pink |
| Robert Rendel |
Cosmos Atrosanguineus | Red-brown chocolate scented | Lorraine Boyd; Lauren Perry |
Dahlia Arabian Night | Dark red, almost black | Ian Jarvis |
Dill | Serves to expel Wind and the pains proceeding therefrom. | Robert Rendel |
Echinacea Purpurea | Purple coneflower. First line of defence against infected wounds or poisonous stings. Inhibits growth of viruses. Also helps counteract toothache and snake bite. | Stephen/Nick; C&K Johnson |
Evening Primrose | To beautify the skin, and to relieve alcohol-related damage | Celia Edwards |
Garlic |
| Helen Ward |
Gypsophila | Elegans Covent Garden White | Barbara Goldsmid |
Hyssop | To use against nervous exhaustion | Chris Moore |
Jasione | Perennis Blue Light | Sophia Krakowian |
Kale, Flanders Purple | Purple, extremely hardy with puckered and wavy leaves. Before 1885 | Jan Cherry |
Kale, Red Russian | A delicate kale with a most attractive flavour and strangely bright green. Well established by 1816, also known as Ragged Jack. | Bill Harding; Georgia Smith |
Lavender | Hidcote - seeds | Lovatt Family |
Lavender | Stoechas | Libby Perkins |
Lavender | French | Alison Roux |
Lavender | Hidcote – plants | Black family |
Lavender | Kew Red | Alison Bell |
Leek | Lyons Prizetaker | Mrs I. Huttner |
Lemon Verbena |
| Gloria Ware |
Lettuce, Blonde de Berlin | A buttery, tasty lettuce, described as ‘handsome, but very solid’. Also known as Black-seeded or All the Year Round | Rupert Hambro; Jaclyn Horton |
Lettuce, Drunken Woman | Loose lettuce, red tinged leaves. Traditional variety, described as common in Italy | Judy Gross; Pamela Fishenden; Andrea Lally; Sue Manley; Margaret Orr Deas |
Lettuce | All year round | Sandra Jones |
Liatris | Florestan violet | Catherine Chojacki |
Lovage |
| Chloe Belcham |
Lupin | Sunrise | Rowena Newberry |
Lychnis coronaria |
| Lydia Morris |
Marshmallow |
| Ben Thellusson |
Melon, Toadskin | Spanish variety of melon ‘Pionet Piel de Sapo.’ Green with dark markings. Very sweet and said to ripen early. | Dave Fellows; Amaya Torres-Rahman |
Mint | Chocolate | Rowena Newberry |
Mint | Eau de Cologne | E. Hughes |
Mint | Lemon | Abby Thellusson |
Mint | Moroccan | Lovatt Family |
Mint | Peppermint | Ian Morton |
Onion, The Queen | A continental onion established by 1873. Said to be rather small, with a distinctive white skin. | Paddy & Killian Humm; Richard Heap |
Parsley | Bravour | Rebecca Taylor |
Parsnip, Tender & True | The perfect parsnip, with a clear smooth skin, 1897. | Daniel Fishenden; Jennifer Burgos |
Pea, Prince Albert | Described in 1837 as ‘… the New Pea, one of the best and earliest extant… forty-two days from sowing to gathering for the gathering for the table.’ | Anthea Collado |
Pea, Small Telephone | An early pea, introduced in 1892. A dwarf variety with 4” pods, said to have excellent flavour. | Bill Lindsell |
Pepper, Long Red Cayenne | Red-hot pepper, identified as far back as 1542. The standard pickled pepper of medieval times. Slim, twisted, 4” long. | Mike Katesmark; George Menna; Jon Howells |
Pepper | Lemon drop | Helen Ward |
Potato | International kidney | Richard Ford |
Primula vialli |
| Joyce Boatman |
Pumpkin, Lady Godiva | Alleged to be an Austrian variety of pumpkin. So named because the seeds are ‘naked’. Chosen for its ability to produce small pumpkin ‘nuts’. | Rupert Hambro; Paul Lynch; |
Radish, Long White Icicle | A long white radish mentioned by Gerard. Known in latter years as the Naples Radish and believed to be the oldest known variety in a vegetable garden. | Catherine Basset |
Rosemary | ‘Dew of the sea’ its flowers ‘are credibly reported to give their scent above 30 leagues off at sea.’ John Evelyn. ‘Smell of it oft, and it shall keep thee youngly’. (1525) | Peter Downs (Miss Jessops?) |
Rosemary | Blue Lagoon | The Orchards |
Rosemary | Tuscan Blue | The Orchards |
Rudbeckia | Occidentalis Green Wizard | Julia Withers |
Rudbeckia | Goldsturm | Serena Snelling |
Salvia | Blue, long-flowering. Can be used like lavender to edge paths | Christine Edwards |
Salvia | Blue, long-flowering. Can be used like lavender to edge paths | Eric Bowman |
Salvia | Marble Arch Blue | Cornelia Rulf |
Sidalcea | Party Girl | Ingrid Lofdahl-Bentzer |
Spinach beet. Rainbow | Mentioned by Loudon in 1847. Also known as ‘five-coloured’ because of its stalks in pink, red, orange, yellow and white. | Tony Smith; Jenny Haydon |
St John’s Wort | Anti-depressant and sedative. Relieves bedwetting in children | John Dowell |
Stock | Miracle Mixed | Laura Ware |
Sweet Peas | Blue Velvet. Fragrant, multi-coloured | Iseult Pilkington |
Sweet Peas | Winston Churchill. multi-coloured | Michael Kendra |
Sweet Peas | Heirloom Mixed. Fragrant, multi-coloured | Bozenna Ochocki |
Sweet William |
| V. Fassnidge |
Tomato | Yellow Pear | Leslie Hoover |
Tulip Angelique | ‘the most desirable of all double lates, with its taller stems and sumptuous flowers… a blend of pale and darker pink shades with green streaks’ | Astrid Breitenstein |
Tulip Uncle Tom |
| Simon Surtees |
Tulip, Black Parrot | ‘deep colouring with bizarrely and very feathered tepals… sought-after tulips and usually in short supply’ | Gabrielle Hogan; Bozenna Ochocki; Nion/Nimi? |
Tulip. Orange Favourite | ‘elegantly frilled flowers in pleasant shade of orange feathered with green… flowers are fragrant’ | Gill Benson |
Turnip | Snowball | Dan Wachira |
Veronica | Blue Bouquet | Alice Mace |
Woad | ‘Caesar saith, that all Brittons do colour themselves with Woad which giveth a blew colour.’ | Robert Rendel |
Wormwood | Recently proven to fight malaria. Addictive and used in absinthe, and to flavour vermouth. | John Dowell |
