Your garden might look bare right now but Missenden Seeds can help you plant a brighter future thanks to sustainable seeds & tubers, including dahlias
Missenden Seeds is a small, independent company run by enthusiastic local grower Carolyn. Summer might feel forever away but this month Carolyn is sowing sweet peas… “I love sweet peas,” she tells us. “I find they make stronger plants and flower earlier if I start them off in autumn. I’m also sowing lots of hardy annuals, biennials and perennials, things like calendula, poppies, astrantia, foxgloves, hollyhocks. As soon as we get the first frost I’ll dig up and store all the dahlia tubers, which is a lot of work but with our heavy clay soil I can’t leave them in over winter.
Carolyn is passionate about perennials, biennials and annuals which make beautiful cut flowers and good for pollinators. “We believe growing flowers should be simple and sustainable. All the seeds and tubers we stock are grown by us, we don’t import or repackage seeds or dahlia tubers. We also only stock open-pollinated varieties from which you can save seed year after year – no F1 varieties here!”
On a small site in the village, Missenden Seeds uses no chemicals and is peat free. “As the seeds are open-pollinated there is always the chance that the odd seedling may not appear exactly the same as its parent, but may be something even lovelier. Some can produce beautiful variations – particularly in the case of dahlia seeds where every plant you grow will be different to its parent and totally unique.
“I’ve lived in Great Missenden for many years and my children all go to school locally. I feel very lucky to live somewhere with such beautiful countryside on the doorstep and such a great range of local shops and places to eat.
“It’s hard to choose my favourite flower but if I had to pick just one thing to grow it would be dahlias. There’s a dahlia for every situation, they flower for months until the first frost and come in such a range of colours, forms and sizes. My favourite this year has been Labyrinth, a striking large decorative variety in pink and peach.”
Claim a 10% discount with Carolyn’s code, BLOOM at Missenden Seeds. Also follow @missendenseeds on Instagram for news.
