Thompson & Morgan Gardening Blog

Our gardening blog covers a wide variety of topics, including fruit, vegetable and tree stories. Read some of the top gardening stories right here.

Propagation, planting out and cultivation posts from writers that know their subjects well.

New Lily ‘Romance’

by | Oct 6, 2015 | | 0 Comments

New Lily ‘Romance’ guaranteed to perform perfectly in patio pots

Trial and competition results prove new oriental lily will grow to perfection in any part of the UK – and maybe even Norway!

Lily Romance

Staff competition winner 2015

Here at Thompson & Morgan, we insist on full product testing before making new plants available to our customers. Much of this quality testing is carried out through technical field trials, but we also like to call on staff, customers and members of the press from all corners of the UK to get a better understanding of a product’s suitability to British gardens.

Ahead of launching Lily ‘Romance’ in the Thompson & Morgan 2016 Spring Catalogue, Horticultural Director Paul Hansord set staff and members of the press the challenge of producing the best patio pot of this new dwarf oriental lily.

From dry East Anglia and the wet Welsh Valleys in the west, up to the most northerly point of the UK – one thing is clear; Lily ‘Romance’ is a top performer no matter the local weather conditions.

“Every staff entry was a winner – in the end we had to award more prizes than intended”, said Paul. “Gardening in East Anglia poses a challenge when rainfall can be few and far between. Add drying easterly winds plus the extra challenges of container growing, and it proves this new compact lily will be a stand out hit for our customers in 2016.”

Terry Walton, gardening columnist and radio presenter, won the Thompson & Morgan media challenge with plants raised in his South Wales garden, less than 10 miles from The Vale of Glamorgan, listed by the Daily Telegraph as the third wettest place in Britain with an annual rainfall of 155cm (just over five feet!).

The lilies received a further accolade this summer when cut stems were used in the winning floral entry to the Unst Show, an annual flower and produce event held on the UK’s most northerly Isle.

Lily Romance

Writer and photographer Helen Harrison donated the stems to her neighbour for use in the competition. She said: “The latitude at which the lilies have grown is further north than St Petersburg, roughly on a par with Bergen in Norway and Stockholm, Sweden.  Unst is actually closer Bergen than Aberdeen!
“During the summer months, there is little darkness and during winter there is a much longer twilight around sunrise and sunset. No part of Shetland is more than a couple of miles from the sea and the salt laden winds are usually major inhibitors to plant growth, but not so with these lilies. They produced lovely flowers and won 1st prize in the show.”

The impressive results have left Paul and the T&M team confident they have the best performing patio lily on the market. Some oriental lilies are too tall for patio pots, needing stakes and supports. The Lily ‘Romance’ Collection will be available in the Thompson & Morgan 2016 Spring Catalogue at £12.99 for six 13/14cm mixed colour bulbs or £19.99 for 12.

 

10 unusual things to grow from seed

by | Oct 1, 2015 | | 1 Comment

There’s nothing more rewarding than growing from seed. That moment where you see the soil surface just breaking with a fresh green shoot is beyond magical! So if you now buy your petunias and geraniums as young plants, I suggest you challenge yourself, and explore the plant world with my list of 10 unusual things to grow from seeds:

 

The newest salad leaf, which I’m sure will be filling the salad bags in your supermarket very soon. Fresh, crunchy, rocket-style leaves with a spicy after-flavour! But, don’t worry, it isn’t as strong as the real thing! So easy to grow from seed, at any time of year, and ready to eat in just 4-5 weeks from sowing. Grow some on the windowsill, so you can devour some with every meal!

 

cucamelonThis diminutive little thing has so many different names; from mouse melon to cucamelon to mini watermelon and even Mexican sour gherkin! The vigorous plants are great for screening or patio obelisks, and are decorative in their own. But, take a peek beneath the leaves in midsummer and you’ll spy the little striped fruits, which only reach the size of a large olive and has a cucumber flavour!

 

 

  1. bananaBanana (Ensete ventricosum)

If you’re a little bit impatient, then you should to grow a banana! Each plant will put on rapid growth and appears quite lush and exotic. With the right care, plants can product fruit in the UK too! Fun to grow from seed, you’ll feel all tingly from the moment that first over-sized leaf bursts through the soil!

 

  1. Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia)

birds-of-paradiseConversely to the banana, you’ll need a lot of patience for growing a Strelitzia! The journey from germination to flowering can take up to 7 years… Similar in appearance to a banana, but a bit more leathery, the Bird of Paradise makes a talking point in a conservatory and once that iridescent flower appears, you’ll want to invite all your friends round to have a look!

 

 

hensol-violet

  1. Meconopsis betonicifolia Hensol Violet

The flower colour of this unique Meconopsis just cannot be described; it is metallic and shimmers purple or blue, depending on which direction you look at it from! A connoisseur’s choice of plant; perfect for damp, shady corners.

 

  1. Nasturtium Phoenix Mixed

nasturtiumImagine a ‘garden-friendly’ Nasturtium and you have ‘Phoenix’! Smaller growth than the usual giant cabbage-like specimens, and the flowers are super decorative, with a serrated appearance, and in the case of yellow- FRAGRANT! Don’t forget, pretty much all parts of Nasturtiums are edible too, so jazz up your summer food plates!

 

 

carrot-purple-sun

  1. Carrot Purple Sun

Bump up your antioxidant intake with the only fully purple carrot! Purple Sun is purple right through to the core; in fact, it doesn’t look anything like a carrot! Simple to grow, really fun for kids and imagine what you could make with it; purple julienne carrots, purple carrot cake, and so on…

 

  1. Sweet Pea Turquoise Lagoon

sweet-peaAnother glorious metallic flower, it’s hard to believe that Turquoise Lagoon is actually a reject from a breeding programme! The delicate flowers are iridescent, with mauve, blue and pink featuring. This is the start of some very different colours for the sweet pea family, so keep your eyes peeled!

 

 

 

  1. flower-of-deathLisianthus nigrescens

Err.. sometimes called the ‘Flower of Death’, this cheerful Lisianthus is actually an amazing seed to be able to get your hands on, as it’s the blackest of any known flower! This plant is just all about the drama; would you believe it’s way more than a metre tall too; think Nicotiana sylvestris, but black!

 

  1. Bat Plant (Tacca)

bat-plantThis one has to be seen to be believed! Again, superb, beguiling black flowers and- when you look up close- the blooms do actually resemble a bat as well! Not only that, you’ll love the vinyl-esque shiny foliage too! A nice little challenge to grow from seed!

 

Top 5 flower seed varieties

by | Sep 23, 2015 | , | 0 Comments

Michael Perry gives us his top 5 flower seed varieties:

Cosmos Xanthos

cosmos seed

For many years, the YELLOW Cosmos has been a myth, and indeed a variety did exist. However, it never flowered until almost September, which is no good for home gardens! Then, from nowhere, Dutch breeders came up with Xanthos, an acid yellow Cosmos which didn’t just flower from June to September, but also offered a shorter, branching habit, with more flowers than you’ve ever seen on a Cosmos! Top tip, grow it in patio pots for a show stopping display.

Zinnia Zinderella Peach

zinnia seed

Zinnia have also changed a lot over the years; evolving from a Californian annual which thrived in hot summers to a versatile annual that can now put up with the English climate! The Zinderella Series is a work of art as well, as the crested blooms shimmer with peachy tones, punctuated with hints of lime green. Zinnia can be used as a cut flower too, lasting an impressive 2 weeks in a vase!

Eschscholzia XL Yellow

californian poppy

Californian Poppies will literally thrive on neglect; requiring hardly any water and putting up with baking sun all day long! We selected this beauty for its large, frilly, bright flowers. As a hardy annual, Eschscholzia are a simple ‘throw and sow’ specimen, so you can scatter the seed straight outdoors where they are to flower!

Nasturtium Cream Troika

Nasturtium seed

The perfect hanging basket Nasturtium, with restrained growth and a gently tumbling habit! Easy to grow by sowing the seed directly into the basket, this has the potential to be the easiest hanging display you’ll have ever grown! Cream Troika is a beaut, with buttery yellow dotted blooms and icy variegated foliage.

Phlox ‘Cherry Caromel’

phlox cherry caromel

Who’d have thought something so beautiful would be so easy to grow? This startling little Phlox can be sown directly outside! You won’t be able to resist the fantastically rich caramel flowers with vibrant cherry centres! I don’t expect stock of this one to stick around for long though, so be quick!

 

The Chilli Challenge

by | Sep 21, 2015 | , | 0 Comments

Back in March, I challenged the members of my local gardening club to a chilli challenge.

All were given a packet of Chilli ‘Numex Twilight’, my favourite chilli for windowsill growing – it’s a manageable size for indoor growing, and at its peak you end up with a rainbow of decorative chillies that will get the admiration of anyone visiting the house.

chilliI set two classes for the challenge – most number of chillies on one plant, and the healthiest looking chilli plant. To level the playing field I provided everyone with a stash of 2 litre pots and the plants had to be grown in these. Other than this they had free reign on compost choice, fertiliser and training (staking, pinching out, etc).

Last Saturday I joined everyone at the local village hall for the end of season flower and produce show. I had been looking forward to seeing how everyone got on, but on Friday evening it suddenly hit me that I’d potentially given myself a really big task. “Why on earth did I choose most number of chillies as a category!?” I had visions of me being there all day, constantly losing count and starting again.

So as I sheepishly entered the hall I was relieved to see ten plants for judging with varied crops of chillies on them.

All the plants had chillies that I would easily recognise as Numex Twilight, but it was interesting to see the variation in habit and size. One reached well over 3½ foot while another wasn’t much more than 18inches high. Most had the small leaves expected of the variety while one or two had large leaves rivalling sweet pepper plants.

Lowest chilli count was 1 (an easy job for me!). Yet I awarded this plant third place in the healthiest plant category – lush foliage with plenty of life left in it for cropping through winter.

The heaviest cropping plant had 203 fruits on it, although none of them had yet ripened. The plant looked so healthy too, that I also gave it 1st place in the second category.

chilliJudging was carried out in the morning, I then returned for the open show in the afternoon, bringing with me my best Numex Twilight plant to show the rainbow of colours that everyone could expect from their plants. Winners announced, I was called on to read out the raffle winners, many of whom went home with Thompson & Morgan seeds for sowing next season. Winners of the chilli categories received seeds of my 10 favourite Thompson & Morgan chillies plus a book on chillies kindly donated by another member.

I received many a compliment for my chilli plant (admittedly grown in larger pot, but fed just once back in June).Returning home I decided to make a feature of it in the kitchen. Setting it alongside my chilli chain – a mix of chillies picked from my plants, all strung together with a needle and thread (the needle goes through the stalks so the fruit is undamaged). These are then hung to dry out ready for a long life of varied uses in the kitchen.

I hope you are all doing as well with your plants. I’d love to see how you are getting on, post your photos on the Thompson & Morgan Facebook page.

 

Find more chilli articles, growers guides and a few tasty recipes at our chillies & sweet peppers hub page.

An update from the Greenhouse in September

by | Sep 17, 2015 | , , | 0 Comments

Hello Everyone,

My favourite month is here. I love the September skies, especially on a sunny evening. In the greenhouse over the years I have been lucky to keep picking tomatoes, aubergines, chillies and sweet peppers for the whole month and well into October. Unfortunately this year the new greenhouse tomatoes have succumbed to late summer blight. I am really not surprised blight has struck, it’s been wet and humid for a good few weeks, and it only takes 48 hours of 70% humidity to spread the disease. Even with good air circulation the dim light was taking its toll on the plants. No amount of weekly feed or careful watering could make any difference.

This is the first time I have had blight and it is devastating. I never got to try the white opal tomatoes as the plant shrivelled and died, the sweet aperitifs tried to fight it, but towards the end of first week of September the fruits were rotting and splitting on the vines.

We quickly stripped the greenhouse of tomatoes leaving just the black opal, as this tomato showed a lot of resistance and continued to produce healthy fruits for another few weeks, before it too started to split its fruits.

But it’s not all doom and gloom, the sweet peppers are still producing fruit even with the lack of bees to pollinate, a good shake of the flowers seems to do the job. They don’t want to turn red as there is not enough heat though so I have to be content with green ones. It’s been so dismal I think the highest temperature we have had has been 18 degrees Celsius. Nights are chilly too, on several occasions it’s dipped to slightly less than 10 degrees.

amandas-sept-greenhouse-1

My aubergines are thriving, I can pick a fruit (sometimes more than one) from a different plant each week. The last lot of radishes went to seed, so I am doing some more hopefully this weekend.

Things in the little greenhouse are picking up. My carrots have put on a lot of growth, I hope the colder weather will mean that I don’t get any carrot fly. The spinach beet has gone ballistic. It’s so quick to recover when I pick a few leaves for dinner. I have found though it’s best to not let the leaves get too big as they get a bit tough. Unfortunately I’m not the only one that likes the spinach there are a few sneaky green shield bugs hiding amongst the leaves. The basils are still growing, the Red Rubin is especially strong. Does anyone have some suggestions what I can use it for, as it’s too strong raw in a salad, it’s good for pasta dishes but I would like to try it in something different?

amanda-seeds

On the first of the month I sowed some seeds some have already germinated and I have included a photo (above), but the nights got cold quick so I think that I may have some failures. So far the Californian Poppies, achillea (yarrow) and sweet peas have germinated along with more basil for someone at work. However, I am still waiting for the pansy, godetia, laurentia and kniphofias. I spent ages with the old Dymo labelling machine making up the labels, as the old lolly sticks I used in the summer have run out. That’s after I used them a couple of times on each side. Also woodlice are partial to them and I don’t want them to overwinter in my pots, they can go in the compost bin or rotting hollyhock stumps instead.

The trouble is though this damp weather is starting to cause damping off, my compost seems to be turning a bit greenish. So I think other job for this weekend will be to repot my seedlings in fresh compost and try to water in the mornings instead of early evening. It’s dark by eightish now so it won’t be long before I will be coming home from work and not even going in the garden without a torch. Luckily my auntie has given my a huge candle lantern and candles to see my way.

amandas-sept-greenhouse-3

We are due some more gales and torrential rain again this week. I hope the new greenhouse stands up to it. I was hoping for a beautiful crisp autumn not an early winter!

What are your thoughts on growing Christmas potatoes? A few years ago I planted grow bags in September, by November the weather had turned so bad we couldn’t even get out after work at night to move them into shelter under glass. The leaves finally tore off after a major storm in early December but the potatoes were lovely? I ask as I am thinking of putting them in grow bags again using a red variety, but putting the bags in the big greenhouse from the beginning. Being hit by blight has put me off. I don’t know if the blight virus would still be in the greenhouse or if I will end up with blight anyway because of the poor weather. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

My new Thompson & Morgan autumn and winter, spring bulbs, and seed catalogues have arrived and I have started looking for interesting things to grow in the greenhouse next spring. The problem is I want to grow everything! I make a list and then check my seed box, half the time I have the seeds already, but I have forgotten about them. Like the bellis or rudbeckia. But sometimes an unusual variety or old fashioned plant will romance me and I know I will be on the website placing an order. Then I look at the special offers and end up buying something else. My last order was for Red Hot Poker ‘Traffic Lights’ (kniphofia) which I got, but I also ended up buying grasses. I picked lots of wavy ones. Unfortunately, I have to wait for spring to start the grasses off. I picked the grasses as our broom bushes seem to be dying off. That’s the thing with a garden, it’s never finished and it always evolves.

amandas-sept-greenhouse-4I am sorry for the slightly short blog this month, I think it’s because of the season drawing to a close. I was hoping to have more interesting things to say, but I’m in a limbo, this year has been nothing like our last few years, although I do like the challenge of these new conditions. What I had planned to write about in certain months had either happened earlier or not at all! But don’t worry I still have plans for the greenhouses in the next few months. Meanwhile I am going to find a new home for the dahlia one of my brothers bought me for my birthday a few days ago. I’ve stuck it in the little greenhouse as I don’t want it to get wrecked in the storm. I leave dahlia bulbs in the ground in the mild winters but this year guess where they will be?

Until October,
Happy Gardening.
Love Amanda x

An Amazing Year at Driftwood

by | Sep 16, 2015 | , | 0 Comments

What an amazing year one of our trial garden owners has had in 2015. Geoff Stonebanks had a triple whammy of a year. Not only did he celebrate the 100th opening of his award winning garden, Driftwood, this month but he also had TV gardener Christine Walkden visit in July, as well as getting his garden featured in The Sunday Telegraph in August. “Not bad” says Geoff “for a small garden (100ft by 40ft) on the south coast.” Geoff’s incredible success does not stop there! He has now seen 12,500 visitors to his patch since 2009 and raised an astonishing £61,500 for charity.

Geoff meeting Christine Walkden

Geoff meeting Christine Walkden

 

While achieving all this, he has been trialling a number of Thompson & Morgan plants over the last 3 years too. Here Geoff tells us of some of his successes in 2015 with some new stock and some old stock. He says “Looking at the new stock of plants, we have had many wonderful comments about the Clematis ‘New Love’ placed in a pot with wire frame. It has flowered profusely throughout the summer and drawn many comments for the visitors.” Rose ‘Sweet Spot® Calypso’ has been greatly admired too with its gorgeous blooms hanging from a pot in the centre of the garden. Another new addition has been the gorgeous Alstroemeria ‘Indian Summer’, which has looked resplendent in pot under a pear tree, its blooms still glowing in late September. Fuchsia ‘Pink Fizz’ also made a dramatic appearance in Geoff’s garden this summer too with its effervescent blooms brightening up the borders.

Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer'

Alstroemeria ‘Indian Summer’

 

Geoff came up with a fun idea this summer when a friend offered him an old fireplace surround! He placed it against a new fence, planted up and old dining room chair next to it, placed pots of tumbling petunias on the mantle, and bought an old rusty grate and filled it with Thompson & Morgan Begonia ‘Glowing Embers’. The result has been stunning, not to mention a talking point this summer. Geoff tells us the plant that has been asked about the most by visitors to his garden has been the delicate Fuchsia Arboresens or Mexican blueberry! Geoff had 3 plugs, which he placed in individual terracotta pots and they have come on well and the flowers have started to turn to berries and ultimately edible blueberries! Another crowd stopper has been the lovely petunia green edge pink.

Geoff's garden fireplace and Begonia 'Glowing Embers'

Geoff’s garden fireplace and Begonia ‘Glowing Embers’

 

However, when pushed for the most talked about plant this summer Geoff said, “Without doubt the single most commented on plant is the beautiful Buddleja ‘Buzz™ Magenta’. It has hit people in the face the minute they walk into the garden!”

Many of the plants from previous years are still doing well in the garden like the incredible Gazania ‘Sunbathers Tikal’ which Geoff overwintered in a covered side alley last year and its blooms have been drawing many dragonflies next to the pond this season. Another reliable eye catcher is the Alstromeria Peruvian Tree Lily now in its 3rd year and looking amazing all through the year, now on its second flowering this season. Lewisia ‘Elise Mixed’ which was delivered in 2014 has done extremely well this year in both pink and yellow becoming quite large plants now!

Lewisia 'Elise Mixed'

Lewisia ‘Elise Mixed’

 

Geoff’s garden seems to thrive despite its exposed location and the journalist from the Telegraph, Francine Raymond, wrote in her article, “I was overwhelmed and charmed, and wondered how so many plants have fitted into such a perfectly formed space? Geoff’s enthusiasm is catching and he and his amazing garden deserve every visitor that makes their way up his enchanting garden path.”

So if you are in Sussex in 2016 try and get along to see Geoff’s garden and some of T&M’s as well! You can read some great reviews of it on TripAdvisor too. You might even see Geoff’s helper too! Albert the Battersea rescue terrier.

 

Geoff's dog Albert

Geoff’s dog Albert

Winter vegetables – Harvest and grow

by | Sep 14, 2015 | , | 1 Comment

A gardener’s work is never done, so why shouldn’t we be rewarded with tasty crops all year round? When I think ahead, I think of cosy nights in front of the log burner with a cup of delicious hot chocolate topped with perfectly whipped cream, feet up and scouring the Thompson & Morgan (slightly biased) catalogue with pure delight and excitement. But what better way to top that than being able to harvest your own winter veg?

 

Whilst there are plenty of vegetables you can harvest over winter, you will need to be organised late spring/summer and already planting your winter vegetables outdoors. There are crops that you can sow and grow over winter for a much earlier crop than spring plantings, but I will come onto that in a bit.

winter vegetables

Over winter you can harvest mouth-watering parsnips, carrots, savoy cabbage and the vegetable that splits the nation, brussels sprouts! Parsnips will need to be sown from mid-spring to early summer as soon as the ground is workable. Carrots can be direct sown between March and July depending on your variety. Top Tip: If growing carrots, make sowings of mint or spring onion nearby this will deter carrot fly. If you haven’t already thought about your winter harvest then make note now so that next year you can be showing off your home grown veg at Christmas dinner.

 

What can you sow in winter?

Most winter vegetable plants are fully hardy and will cope well with cold winter weather, but if hard frosts threaten then you can always throw some fleece across them to provide some extra protection. Most can be planted or sown directly outdoors to ensure that your winter vegetable garden is fully stocked.

winter vegetablesGarlic – Growing garlic couldn’t be easier and there are lots of varieties to choose from for autumn planting. Like onions, they have a long growing season and won’t be ready to harvest until next summer, but it is well worth the wait!

Spring Onion – Winter hardy varieties of Spring onion make a tasty accompaniment to winter salads. They are a fairly quick growing crop and early autumn sowings should be ready to harvest by early spring. Spring Onion ‘White Lisbon’ is a popular and reliable winter hardy variety.

Asparagus – If you have plenty of space then why not plant a permanent asparagus bed this autumn.  Although asparagus beds take several years to establish, each asparagus crown can produce up to 25 spears per year and will continue cropping for 25 years. You will need to be patient with this crop as it will be 2 years before you can harvest them properly.

 

Wasabi rocket – This exclusive variety is perfect for windowsill growing. Wasabi Rocket can be harvested as a baby leaf within weeks of sowing or left to mature into a full leaf alongside your cut and come again salad varieties

Garden Space Fillers

by | Sep 10, 2015 | | 0 Comments

Whilst our garden favourites take centre stage in our beds and borders, plants are much like people, they need companionship! Garden space fillers are a great way to add further interest to your garden, without taking away from your star performers. Buy low growing ground cover varieties such as Heuchera or Wallflowers to fill in those spaces. And who likes bare soil? Bare soil is not only unattractive but will also lose moisture in weather come wind, rain or shine, so they will also offer some protection.

garden space fillers

Rudbeckia ‘Early Bird Gold’

Late flowering perennials will help fill in those gaps and add colour right through to the first frosts. Rudbeckia ‘Early Bird Gold’ erupts into bloom weeks earlier than other perennial varieties. Their long-lasting colour will add interest to herbaceous borders and will attract beneficial pollinating insects to your garden! You don’t want to squish those tall, flamboyant perennials together either, so why not mix it up and add some annuals such as Clematis ‘Freckles’ that will flower from December to February.

garden space fillers

Clematis ‘Freckles’

You may be wondering what you should do for added interest when your blooms start to fade? Autumn foliage space fillers! Heuchera is our top pick. When your flowers come to an end, the foliage will provide spectacular colour and performance throughout autumn until the first sign of frosts. ‘Patchwork mix’ will add a distinctive splash of colour to the front of borders, or even brightening your winter containers. Their airy blooms attract bees and are also useful as cut flowers.

garden space fillers

Heuchera ‘Patchwork Mix’

We’ll soon be despatching winter and spring bedding: pansies, primroses, violas, bellis and wallflowers! These are the perfect winter space fillers. They will cover bare soils right through winter, giving a flush of colour in late autumn and again in spring. Wallflower ‘Sugar Rush’ offers fragrant flower spikes in shades of cream, yellow, red and purple not only in the spring, but throughout the autumn too, blooming in just 6 weeks from an August planting! Available as garden ready plants, these customer favourites will be delivered at the right time for planting. Wallflower ‘Winter Party’ is an evergreen hybrid that is so undemanding it can even cope in the poorest of soils!

Pepper Meter for Chili heat

by | Sep 4, 2015 | , | 2 Comments

Some like it hot, but others not! Thompson & Morgan Pepper Meter makes it easy to find chili heat.

pepper-meterThe Scoville scale has been the standard measure of chili heat for over a hundred years, but a rating of 750,000 or 1million+ SHU doesn’t mean much to the average gardener, other than its likely to blow your socks off! Looking to simplify things and give customers a better informed choice, Thompson & Morgan has rated all pepper varieties in its range on a simple 0-10 scale, from Cool & Sweet right up to Explosive!

The UK is fast becoming a nation of hot heads when it comes to greenhouse and windowsill growing. Driven by changing taste buds and a desire for more exotic cuisine, Thompson & Morgan has noticed a steady rise in the number of gardeners trying their hand at growing chilies and peppers in the last 10 years. Easy to grow and providing a bountiful supply of fruits for fresh use, freezing and drying, they are becoming a common site in UK kitchens and greenhouses.

Chilies are the perfect companion plants for growing alongside greenhouse tomatoes, thriving under the same conditions and feeding regime. And for those without the luxury of a greenhouse there are many varieties that remain compact for indoor growing while still producing hundreds of fruits per plant, making them a very worthwhile addition to a sunny windowsill. Many varieties can also be grown outside in a sunny spot to great success.

T&M Horticultural Director Paul Hansord said: “For some growers it’s all about the kudos of growing the hottest varieties they can get their hands on – often far too hot to eat! But many gardeners are looking for a better culinary experience to suit their tastes – not many people really want to add the world’s hottest chili varieties to their dishes. Our Pepper Meter allows customers to make a quick informed decision on the varieties to grow to suit their tastes, helping them get it right from the word go.”

Display cards explaining the new Pepper Meter will hang alongside the Thompson & Morgan chili offering at garden centres in 2016, and vibrant redesigned packets will each clearly show the variety’s heat rating for quick and easy selection.

Wasabi Rocket

by | Sep 4, 2015 | , | 0 Comments

The easy way to add a taste of Japan to sushi, salads and sandwiches

wasabi-rocketWe’ve brought a new distinctive taste to a salad favourite. Traditional rocket types offer a hot peppery flavour, our exclusive Wasabi Rocket adds a taste of Japan with the unique warm flavour of the wasabi root in quick and easy to grow salad leaf form. A small wasabi root can cost upwards of £10, takes two years to reach maturity, and is very particular about the conditions in which it grows – it hates hot, dry summers and cold, wet winters.

Our Wasabi Rocket can be harvested as a baby leaf within weeks of sowing or left to mature into a full leaf alongside your cut and come again salad varieties – either way the flavour is just as distinctive. Sow every couple of weeks through the season, and grow on the windowsill through autumn and winter for a cheap year round supply. Previously only available in select supermarket salad bags, be the first to grow this wonderful new salad addition in the UK – top chefs are already raving about it!

Add a kick to salads, sandwiches and sushi, or use it with any dish that requires horseradish or wasabi paste. You’ll be amazed at how much flavour is packed into each leaf.

Read more and buy your wasabi rocket seeds.

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