British Wildflowers for the Garden - Ox-Eye Daisy

Thu, 8 Jun 2023 16:16:00 +0200

Ox-Eye Daisies are one of the best British Wildflowers for the garden. They are commonly seen in meadows, verges and grasslands, flowering from May/June onwards into late summer.

Plants are tall, perennial and favour infertile soils, so are ideal for wilder parts of the garden. They are loved by insects and some birds and largely look after themselves. They are easy to grow from seed, and can be sown directly into the ground in spring or autumn.

See here to grow from seed.

Photo taken below of daisies flowering in our garden in Cornwall in early June.

Whirling Butterflies flower into autumn

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 16:21:00 +0200

Whirling Butterflies continue to flower prolifically into late September. These are great plants suitable for a wide range of gardens.

This plant is growing amongst Agapanthus in a small patio garden overlooking the sea here in the Roseland Peninsula, surviving a very hot and dry summer with no damage. It is combined exclusively with blue Agapanthus, which creates an appealing impression in a small space. These plants look equally good growing in naturalistic gardens and borders, effectively filling spaces and helping plants blend into one another to provide waves of colour and form.

Gaura normally flowers in white or pink. White flowers bring brightness into gardens in autumn when the natural light is reducing. Gaura ‘The Bride’ is a good white variety available to grow from seed. The white forms of Gaura sometimes flower with tinges of pink, which I think adds to their appeal. These are perennial plants from the southern states of the US and are fast growing and hardy for most of the UK (RHS Hardiness H4). Cut flowers are easy and rewarding to grow from seed. Whether you are a cut flower grower or a gardener who brings flowers into the house, we have some ideas for you.

Aim to achieve a mix of colours and textures and a prolonged flowering period from early summer into autumn. Try growing brightly coloured flowers and contrast with more subtle green and white flowers. Include different flower shapes, such as daisies contrasting with umbels. Include a variety of textures, such as strawflowers and grass flowers. And add scented flowers such as sweet peas and tobacco plants.

A prolonged flowering period is achieved by sowing seeds in batches every fortnight during spring and early summer, spreading out the growing effort and flowering times. Also notice the natural flowering time of plants to include early summer and late autumn colours. Add plants whose flowers and seed heads can be dried in autumn so you can extend flower arrangements into the winter.

Good cut flowers should last well in a vase and have strong stems that hold the flowers upright. Here are 15 cut flower seeds to try this year.

Icelandic Poppies: Papaver nudicaule 'Mixed'

Hardy short-lived perennials with silky petals in pastel colours from May to September.

Winter can be a quiet time of year for gardeners, but not for those of us who like to start sowing early.

Early sowing maximises the use of your growing space throughout the year, and plants flower earlier than normal when sown in winter. Succession sowing, where you sow batches of the same seed two or more weeks apart, delivers a longer flowering season.
Early sowing is very useful for some perennials, which flower in the first year when sown early, when you may normally have to wait for a second season of growth for flowers.
For early sowing you need a greenhouse or some windowsill space. You need to provide some heat to encourage the seeds to germinate, and a propagator can be very helpful.
Damping off diseases can be an issue with seed sowing at this time of year. These diseases cause the death of seedlings below and above the soil. Clean trays and fresh bagged compost help to keep this under control. Controlling the moisture levels of seed trays also reduces damping off and rotting of seeds.
With winter comes lower light levels and young seedlings need light to thrive. Choose a sunny windowsill or greenhouse to grow them on once you have transplanted the seedlings into small pots. Grow lamps are especially useful at this time of year, encouraging the seedlings to grow faster and stronger.

Processing Angel's Fishing Rod seeds

Fri, 31 Dec 2021 16:32:00 +0200

Behind the scenes at PlantGenesis this week.

We have been processing Angel's Fishing Rod seeds in preparation for packing. Those of you who save seed will know it is a much bigger job drying and cleaning seeds than most people anticipate. When you open a packet of seeds you expect it to be free of chaff. Clean seeds store better, free from disease, and are easier to handle when sowing.

These Dierama pulcherrimum seeds have been grown in Cornwall and harvested this autumn. Please get in touch if you have expertise in growing particular flowers or herbs, are based in Great Britain, and would like to grow for us.

Grow Your Own Dried Flowers

Fri, 21 May 2021 17:00:00 +0200

It is easy to grow dried flowers from seed. Now (May and early June) is a good time to start. Many dried flowers are sown from seed in the late spring. This is because sowing can be done straight into the garden, rather than starting indoors earlier in seed trays. The plants grow quickly in the warm spring sunshine and look great in the summer. They are then harvested for dried flowers that deliver a long-lasting indoor display over winter.

To Try

Here are a few to try this year:

Helichrysums or Strawflowers – These are some of the best ‘Everlasting’ flowers to grow from seed. They are available in a wide range of colours. The 'Choice Mixed' variety is good if you are looking for a range of colours for dried flowers. Or choose individual shades for your borders and if you are growing for an event. ‘Silvery Rose’ and ‘White’ are popular varieties for wedding flowers.

Success with Salvia seeds

Fri, 18 Sep 2020 12:58:00 +0200

Thanks to customer Roman for sending in a photo of his Salvia seedlings today, less than one week after sowing. 25 seedlings from 26 seeds is a good result and I like to celebrate the green fingers of our lovely customers!

He has sown Salvia 'Victoria Blue', and the seedlings grow into plants with beautiful blue flowers next summer.

Salvia 'Victoria White' is another in the same series, with plants looking great growing together in drifts or blocks of colour.

Plants at the Veryan & Portloe Store

Tue, 17 Mar 2020 08:57:00 +0200

We have a small number of spare plants available in our local shop. We normally put them out from March to when the bad weather sets in (mostly October). This year we chose Monday 16th March to get started - the sunniest day of the year so far, and the first dry day for a month! Drop by the Veryan & Portloe Store to have a browse.

Alongside us you will find the beautiful flowers and vegetables produced by our local Calendra Collective.

Find our seeds and trays at the Veryan & Portloe Store

Fri, 6 Mar 2020 17:50:00 +0200

A reminder to our local customers and visitors that PlantGenesis seeds are available at the Veryan & Portloe Store here in The Roseland, Cornwall. If you can't find what you are looking for, please visit our website for lots more seeds, which are delivered free to TR2 postcodes in The Roseland. Remember to select the 'Free Delivery' option when checking out.

Alongside the seeds are Steve's sturdy wooden seed trays for those of you wanting to reduce the use of plastic in the garden. Made here in Cornwall from larch. Get one here.

Our 'polyhouse' delivers a few plants each year raised from germination tests and cuttings. They are mostly grown by us, but not all, as some are handed on from friends and fellow plant enthusiasts, so we have quite an eclectic range at times! They will appear in front of the shop in the next few weeks. Watch our blog, Facebook and Instagram for their arrival.

Spring is on the way! Wild Primroses are in flower

Fri, 21 Feb 2020 17:32:00 +0200

You know for sure when spring is on the way when the wild primroses start to flower. It may be cold, it may be raining a lot, but it is a wonderful sight and I know some warm weather cannot be far away. The main photo is the wild primrose (Primula vulgaris). It is a hardy plant, growing widely across the UK and will always start flowering as early as February, especially here in Cornwall. I let them grow in my garden as they are such beauties. This one is quite pale, with many wild plants flowering in a stronger shade of yellow. Sometimes they flower in pink. There are lots of colourful cultivated forms available in garden centres.

It got me thinking what reliable and versatile plants Primroses can be. These early flowers are followed by other species that flower well into the middle of summer. Many are worth growing from seed.

Mediterranean garden perfect colour combination

Thu, 13 Feb 2020 18:09:00 +0200

I visited Abbotsbury Sub-Tropical Gardens with a friend last year in Dorset. It’s a really fantastic garden and well worth a detour to get there. We went in high summer on a very hot day and the Mediterranean garden was looking truly wonderful. I was particularly taken with the combination of silver, yellow and blue planting, contrasting so well with the dry landscaping.

The silver and yellow colours are from the Curry Plant (Helichrysum italicum) and the blue from English Lavender. I’m not sure of the Lavender variety in this case, but Lavender ‘Munstead’ would be a good choice. Or Lavender 'Hidcote Blue'.

Sometimes I am guilty of living on my own ‘plant-bubble’, only admiring and growing plants that I like. So when I was asked for Tithonia seeds several times last year, it forced me to look into this plant, and to find some seed. This year, we are selling Tithonia ‘Goldfinger’.

Tithonias come from the hotter parts of North America and grow big daisy-like flowers, in bright orange. Growing over a metre tall in a single season, they are a great plant for a border and a vase. I see they prefer a warm sheltered garden, and not-too-rich soil and deliver months of late colour flowers.

I particularly like the orange and blue colour combination, so try growing Tithonia alongside Salvia ‘Victoria’ (main picture) or Verbena bonariensis.

Tithonia and

Reducing plastic in the garden - going back to wooden seed trays

Fri, 7 Feb 2020 18:04:00 +0200

Most of us are keen to reduce our use of plastic in the garden. One of the easiest changes you can make is switching from plastic to wooden seed trays. These PlantGenesis trays are made from Larch and will raise hundreds of batches of healthy seedlings. Larch is a very durable wood, lasting for years, even when exposed to damp soil. Wooden seed trays also reduce the risk of damping-off diseases, giving you better germination success.

These trays are also good for storing small pot plants once the seedlings are potted up. And I use them for storing bulbs and garden tools. Husband Steve made some for me a few years ago, and they have worked so well I thought our friends and customers would like to try them. Thanks to those who have bought some from the local Veryan & Portloe shop and encouraged Steve to make more!

Scabious - delivers on just about everything!

Wed, 5 Feb 2020 17:41:00 +0200

Last summer our local fishing village of Portloe held a collective open garden day for charity. The gardens were fabulous - cottage gardens, implausibly steep terraced gardens overlooking the sea, modern Agapanthus and grass landscapes, and an impressive country house garden. That afternoon I spotted a lovely creamy, heritage Pincushion in perfect bloom. Handed down through three generations, the name forgotten, but the plant much loved. It was time to expand our seed range!

New to us this year are two varieties from the ‘Perfecta Series’ – a blue and pure white form. To be grown individually, or in a classic colour combination together. When launching these new products, it reminded of the versatility of Scabious plants. Not only are they long-lived perennials, but they grow true-to-colour from seed, and flower in the first year from sowing. They attract lots of pollinators into the garden, are great border plants, and wonderful cut flowers. You could hardly ask more of a plant!

Everlastings - a natural dried flower

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 17:33:00 +0200

I first saw Everlastings growing wild in the Hex River Mountains north of Cape Town. White, low growing, with appealing papery-white flowers, it was very tempting to pick some, as I know they dry well and last for years. I have recently been on the search for South African Everlastings, and although I do sometimes see them, they are difficult to get hold of here in the UK.

There is a very similar group of plants from Australia that fill the gap and are much easier to find. These are Helichrysums (recently renamed as Xerochrysums) and they are now available in a wonderful range of colours, many of which I will be trying this year.

Choice Mix Fiireball

An easy way to germinate Thunbergia seedlings

Sun, 26 Jan 2020 17:07:00 +0200

I like to germinate Thunbergia seedlings in damp kitchen towel rather than seed trays. I appreciate it is not the conventional way to do things, but I do like to watch their progress and see them spring to life so quickly. Sowing in damp kitchen towel also reduces the mess when propagating indoors in winter.

I want to share these with you as the first seedlings of the year! They came up in about a week in a heated propagator in January. Not all the seeds germinate at the same time, and it takes a good two to three weeks for most to germinate. 60-80% germination seems to be a good rule of thumb, but not if you let them dry out or cool down too much, so keep a close eye on them. I will keep them going a bit longer to get as many of the seeds to germinate as possible.

I’ve now transplanted the seedlings into small pots in the greenhouse for growing on. They are not totally hardy, so I’ll grow them on for some time before hardening off and planting out into containers for selling in the local market and shop here in Veryan in Cornwall. These climbing plants from Southern Africa are a beauty and this is a new deep orange variety called ‘Orange Wonder’.

Three more First Year Flowering Perennials

Fri, 24 Jan 2020 15:32:00 +0200

After the success of last week’s post about the arrival of some new First Year Flowering Perennial seeds, here are three more to try! A reminder that these hardy plants will flower in the first year when grown early from seed, and grow on to live for many years. Most need sowing in a greenhouse or indoor propagator, but some seeds can go directly into the ground.

Larkspurs often flower first year if sown early – try two contrasting blues from the Delphinium Belladonna series: ‘Clivedon Beauty’ flowers in pale blue and ‘Bellamosum Dark Blue’ flowers in a much darker shade of blue, both grow beautifully together in a border.

Three new First Year Flowering Perennials to try

Sun, 19 Jan 2020 18:35:00 +0200

Perennial plants are mostly long-lived and have plenty of time to reproduce themselves. These plants often produce less seed than other plants. The seeds take their time to germinate and the seedlings do not rush to mature and flower. Patience and persistence is helpful when growing these from seed. However, there are exceptions. There are a small group of perennial plants that flower in the first year from seed, especially when they are sown early in spring.

Here are three new introductions to try this year:

Cupid’s Dart ‘Armor Blue’ (Catananche caerulea) - an attractive border plant and good cut flower. Plants grow to a height of 60-80cm with grass-like leaves and appealing papery lavender-blue all summer from July/August to October.If you are looking to reduce your use of pesticides in the garden, then consider trying companion planting. This ancient practice combines the growing of beneficial herbs and flowers amongst your vegetables to prevent damage from insects and improve pollination.

The smell of some plants can deter pests, steering them away from your vegetables. Others are so appealing to pests, they act as ‘sacrificial plants’, bearing the brunt of the damage. And others simply attract pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, into your greenhouse or vegetable plot, enhancing pollination and fruit set.

Here are four plants to try this year:

Mexican Tarragon (Tagetes lucida) – this is a hardy perennial herb with the dual benefit of attracting pollinators and repelling insects and nematodes. It is also a tasty herb in its own right. Grow alongside...

Looking for some Prairie planting inspiration?

Fri, 10 Jan 2020 18:49:00 +0200

Prairie planting is naturalistic style of gardening that typically includes an appealing mix of grasses and perennials, planted in drifts or blocks of colour. It takes inspiration from the Prairie grasslands of North America, and is featured in Monty Don's American Gardens TV series starting on 10th January 2020 on BBC2.

Many Prairie plants can be grown from seed, providing large numbers of plants that help you achieve the drifts that make this style so distinctive. Echinaceas, Rudbeckias, Eryngium, Stipa and Anemanthele are a good plants to start with. Follow these links for some inspiration.

Blue False Indigo (Baptisia australis)

Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea,

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