Natural Dyes

A very popular and reliable variety for well over 100 years, Onion 'Density 4' is ideally suited to our climate producing medium to large, globe shaped, straw coloured bulbs with pure white flesh and a good flavour. As a standard maincrop it offers excellent quality, high yields and a very good storage life.

'Morada de Amposta' is a large sweet onion named after the small Spanish town of Amposta. A heritage variety that produces attractive red-bronze onions, not too hot, with a pleasant, exceptional sweetness typical of Spanish onions. The beautiful, large globes weigh around 200 to 250 grams.

Jacobs Ladder is an easy perennial to grow and is a very attractive plant for a border with moist but well-drained soil. The plants form a lush mound of deep green, ferny foliage, bearing upright stems with an endless succession of star-shaped blue flowers with contrasting yellow stamens.

The white form of the lovely Jacobs Ladder, named after the slender, fresh green leaflets arranged like the rungs of a ladder. Blooming in late spring to early summer, the bright foliage and white flowers will brighten shady locations. Both the flowers and the attractive ferny foliage are excellent for cutting.

Grown for the sweet ambrosial scent of its flowers which are used in flower arrangements, potpourri and perfumery. As a dye plant, Weld produces a yellow that all other yellows are judged by. Alongside Madder, Woad and Chamomile they produce the very best natural dyes for temperate areas.

Reseda odorata is an ancient plant with a long recorded history. 'Mignonette' has captured the hearts of gardeners and poets for centuries. The flowers are intensely fragrant, with a sweet and spicy scent, they make a wonderful addition to floral arrangements, even dried, the flowers retain their fragrance for several months.

Rhubarb Victoria was introduced by Joseph Myatt of Deptford in 1837. It is one of the easiest to raise from seed and can usually start to be harvested one year after sowing. It produces sweet, juicy, medium sized green stalks with green-red leaves. A popular forcing variety being extremely productive for years.

This wonderful heritage variety of alpine Strawberry produces loads of little red strawberries that are bursting with flavour. Much sweeter than their traditional commercial cousins they possess a fine, old fashioned flavour. Plants have compact growth with few runners. An alpine Strawberry that is very hard to find, excellent for high altitude climates!

The European woodland strawberry is the old fashioned wild strawberry once widely grown in gardens. Called 'Fraises des Bois' meaning literally Strawberries of the Forest, the compact plants give a good yield of small, intensely sweet little berries. A burst of true, scrumptious Strawberry that puts the taste of many bigger berries to shame.

Artemisia annua, commonly called Sweet Annie is a graceful annual with tall stems with fine bright green ferny foliage. With sweetly fragrant foliage it has a wide variety of uses both medicinal and for handcrafting but is most often grown for fresh and dried arrangements.

Easy to grow and quick to flower, French Marigold 'Tangerine' blooms reliably throughout the summer with vivid orange flowers that are lifted high atop lush, scented foliage. The plant is famously used in companion planting and for making flower garlands.

The flavour of Russian Tarragon may not be so pronounced as its French counterpart but is it is a much more hardy plant that prefers poor soils and can cope with a bit of neglect. It produces lots of leaves, which can be used for a milder flavour.

Wormwood is best known as the primary ingredient in absinthe, but is also an exceptionally versatile herb. As well as being an attractive plant to look at, this ancient crop has been used for centuries as a moth repellent, general pesticide and as a spray to repel slugs and snails.