Sourcing seeds: Chiltern Seeds

Sourcing Your Seeds: Chiltern Seeds

We go behind the scenes at Chiltern Seeds to discover where some of our seeds come from and the journey they go through to make it into seed catalogues, as well as current trends and favourites.

Finding Your Go-to Seed Company

Everyone has a trusted seed supplier and Chiltern Seeds is my default – they have a huge range of both flower and vegetable seed, and stock unusual varieties as well as popular varieties. They also have really good photography of the plants and present these in inspiring ways.

How Chiltern Source Their Seeds

Chiltern is a family-run business taken over by Heather Leedham and Sally Redhead ten years ago from their father, who was known for unusual varieties.

Heather and Sally have tried to stay true to that mission. While they're still buying popular species, they're looking for less obvious varieties of that species.

The Process of Seed Sourcing

1. Seed is sourced from all over the world, but Chiltern have a few trusted suppliers they visit every year, especially in the Netherlands.
2. Heather and Sally visit the trial fields to see the plants growing in the flesh and choose what they personally really like.
3. Their suppliers develop the varieties and create a stock seed that's supplied all over the world to reliable growers, who then grow these on and harvest the seed.
4. It's a long process from seeing the seed in the trials field to making it available. Sometimes things are experimental and won't be available for a few years.
5. The plant is grown in Chiltern's own trials garden, where they try to test different new varieties each year so that staff can see what the seeds turn into and gather first-hand experience.

Colour Choices

Peach and apricot have been the most popular colours at Chiltern for the last few years and that doesn't seem to be changing. For example:

• Cosmos 'Apricotta' has been the most popular cosmos ever at Chiltern (previously the favourite was the white 'Purity'), but now people love that peachy pinky colour
• same with scabious – the apricot 'Fata Morgana' is a bestseller
• understated flowers in browns and greens that have an antiquey feel are popular
• combine these colours with brighter flowers – it's a question of picking your colour and then putting it with something else.

Heather and Sally's Top Favourite Flowers:

• larkspur 'Misty Lavender' – overlooked until recently because it's understated – subtle greyish pale lilac
• snapdragon 'Madame Butterfly Bronze' – beautiful pinky, apricotty coral colour that stands out.

"With the bespoke photography on the website and leaflets we're trying to show our customers what else they can do – this is how amazing flowers can be, and have you thought of this colour?"

– Heather Leedham, Chiltern Seeds

Plant Directory

Antirrhinum majus 'Madame Butterfly Bronze'

Snapdragon 'Madame Butterfly Bronze'

Short-lived perennial, grown as an annual

Plantaginaceae

Consolida ajacis 'Misty Lavender'

Giant larkspur 'Misty Lavender'

Hardy annual

Ranunculaceae

Cosmos bipinnatus 'Apricotta'

Mexican aster 'Apricotta'

Half-hardy annual

Asteraceae

Cosmos bipinnatus 'Purity'

Mexican aster 'Purity'

Half-hardy annual

Asteraceae

Scabiosa atropurpurea 'Fata Morgana'

Scabious 'Fata Morgana'

Short-lived herbaceous perennial

Caprifoliaceae

Zinnia cultivars

Common zinnia

Half-hardy annuals

Asteraceae