Costmary
3L Pot - Tanacetum balsamita
Hardy herbaceous perennial
Description and uses - Costmary is also known as alecost was once used to flavour ale. It's an aromatic herb of the aster family (Asteraceae). The leaves have a minty/lemony/balsam taste and can be eaten fresh in a salad. Once a commonly used medicinal herb it was used to reduce catarrh, ease stings and made into a tea to aid digestion.
Mat forming with tall yellow button like flowers.
Height 150cm.
Spread 90cm.
Everlasting Onion - Bareroot x 6
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Allium cepa perutile
Hardy perennial
Uses - Use all year round instead of spring onions. The small bulbs can also be eaten.
About - This is a cut and come again allium that stays green and continues to grow all year, albeit slower in the colder months. The bulbs multiply quickly so can be divided to create more plants. It doesn't produce flowers, so all it's energy is used to grow more leaves.
Growing conditions - Grow in full sun or partial shade. Mulch annually with well rotted manure or compost. Water during dry spells until established. If the tips of the leaves begin to dry out it most likely needs to be watered or eaten!
Height - 30-40cm.
Spread - 30-60cm.
Beneficial to wildlife - No
Welsh onion - Bare roots x 6
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Allium fistulosum - A hardy perennial bunching onion producing thick hollow stems and large white flowers which appear later in the season.
Cut the stem and leave the bulb in the ground, it will quickly regrow. Use raw in salads or cook with them like you would spring onions.
Divide clumps to get more plants or if they become too congested. Ideally use bed rotation for divisions to prevent diseases. If you let the flowers go to seed you will get lots of little seedlings appearing the following year around Feb/ March. Just remember not to weed them out.
Dill
9cm pot
Anethum graveolens
Biennial but best grown as an annual.
Uses - A popular herb with fish dishes but equally good in many other recipes. The seeds can be used when making pickles or added to bread.
Growing conditions - Grow in full sun, on windy sites dill may need to be staked. Keep well watered until established. Make sure to remove the flowers as they appear to keep up a good production of leaves.
Height 90cm Spread 50cm
Flower colour - Yellow umbellifer flowers
Good for pollinators - Yes
Vietnamese Coriander
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ORDER NOW FOR DELIVERY IN MAY
1 Litre pot
Persicaria odorata also known as rau ram, is a tender perennial plant from the tropics, it grows in a bushy form. The leaves are long and pointed with a dark purple v shaped mark in the centre.
Uses - Use sparingly and add at the end of cooking to transform stir fries, curries and salads with this wonderfully aromatic herb. Also has a number of medicinal uses.
Height 60cm. Spread 60cm.
Flower colour - Unlikely to produce flowers in the UK. The flowers can be light pink to creamy white.
How to grow - Best grown under cover in a greenhouse, sunny windowsill or in a large pot in a sheltered sunny spot outdoors it will not survive outdoors in winter, it is not frost tolerant.
Do not let the soil dry out. Feed regularly it's a hungry plant and needs a rich fertile soil.
Really easy to propagate when it outgrows the pot, just pop a few cutting in water and you will see roots within a week then pot up.
Good for pollinators - No
Daubenton's Kale (Perennial)
MAY DELIVERY
1L pot
Brassica oleracea var ramosa
A perennial kale with multiple stems growing from the base rather than growing as a single stalk. It will put down elbows which will also take root and spread the plant outwards. It rarely produces flowers, so reproduction is carried out by taking cuttings. The leaves are smaller than regular kales but make up for it in volume of leaves produced. The leaves are soft and have a slight nutty taste when eaten they have a purple tinge around the edges. It is advisable to cover with netting as caterpillars and pigeons will make quick work of it.
Grows in most soils as long as it's not waterlogged. Feed regularly.
Height - 1m Spread - 2m after a couple of years.
French Tarragon
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1L Pot
Artemisia dracunculus
Half hardy perennial
Uses - French tarragon is used mainly in chicken, fish and vegetable dishes, also use to flavour vinegars and creamy sauces. Don't forget to freeze or dry some extra to use throughout the winter months.
Growing conditions - Grow in a pot with a gritty compost that drains very well. It will need to be brought indoors in winter. French tarragon does not like to sit in wet soil especially in cold conditions. I grow mine in the ground in the polytunnel and it does overwinter as long as it is not watered too much. It will die back completely in winter and regrow in spring. Position in a sunny, wind sheltered spot and cut back regularly to prevent flowering.
Height - 60-90cm. Spread - 60cm.
Flower colour - Green/yellow but very small and insignificant.
Mugwort
1 Litre pot
Artemisia vulgaris
Hardy herbaceous perennial
Uses - Use to make tinctures and teas. Can also be used when fermenting beer. Dried leaves can be made into a smudge stick or a few put into a mesh bag under your pillow it's said to induce vivid dreams.
Growing conditions - Plant in full sun or partial shade. Does not require very fertile soil and will grow happily in drier soils, but keep well watered until established.
Height approximately 1-2m. Spread - 1m +
Flower colour - Flowers are green/yellow/brown and insignificant. Remove flowering stalks before it goes to seed if you don't want it to spread itself around.
Good for pollinators - Yes
Orpine
MAY DELIVERY
1L Pot - Hylotelephium telephium
Hardy herbaceous perennial
Thick succulent leaves are delicious eaten raw, the flavour is similar to peas.
Rich pink flowers appear later in summer and are beneficial to all kinds of pollinating insects.
Height - 60cm Spread - 60cm
Korean celery
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2L Pot - Dystaenia takesimana
May also be called Ulleung giant celery (it originates from the island of Ulleung), Seombadi, Dwaejipul, Korean giant celery and Korean pig plant.
Hardy perennial
Description and uses - A rare plant, growing to approximately 6ft tall, the shoots, stems and leaves can be used as a substitute for celery. Large white umbellifer flowers are attractive to pollinating insects.
How to grow - Prefers a spot with a little shade can also be grown in full sun. Keep watered during extended dry periods and until established.