All of our strawberries are the Fragaria x ananassa species and are quite easy to grow.  They are perennial, winter hardy and thrive in full sunshine but need fertile, well drained soil.  Healthy plants will produce plentiful fruit for three to four years after which the plants should be replaced.

Strawberries are best planted in mounds, especially if drainage can be a problem.  Plant 12″-15″ apart with the crown above soil level and the roots 1/4″ below soil level.

A heavy mulch or sawdust, grass clippings, straw or even plastic sheeting should be added to prevent weeds and to retain moisture.

We can supply various different varieties which are known to fruit at different times within the season (these can be seen within each product or alongside each other in our catalogue), we also can supply a collection which incorporates early, mid and late fruiting varieties so that you have fruit all season long, to purchase, please click here or to see our full range, please click here

Lavender is an easy to grow, drought resistant shrub which produces masses of beautifully scented flowers.  It thrives in containers, borders and gardens.

It is best planted between April and May and like Thyme, thrives in poor and low fertile soil in sunny spots.  Water regularly during the summer but keep on the dry side in winter and keep in a greenhouse or by the side of walls.  Prune your plants every year to keep them compact.  When plants are established, remove flower stalks and about 2.5 cm (1 inch) if the current year’s growth making sure that some green remains.  For Lavender hedges, Hidcote is the ideal variety spacing between 12″ and 15″ apart (approx 3-5 per meter) giving you a beautiful and fragrant traditional English hedge.

We have a great range of lavenders available, including the following:

• Lavender Hidcote
  This is one of the most popular varieties, named after Major Lawrence Johnson, a British garden designer and plantsman.  He was the owner and designer of Hidcote Manor in Gloucestershire.  It has a silvery foliage and dark purple-blue flowers which late spring until early summer.  It is one of the strongest-scented varieties.  It received it’s first Royal Horticultural Society Award in 1932 and another in 2002 proving that this is a timeless variety (also available to buy in larger quantities here)
• Lavender Kew Red
  Kew Red was introduced by Kew Gardens in 1999 and is a beautiful Deep Pink to Red colour.  Bees and butterflies both love this variety, it’s also highly aromatic.  Like many lavenders, it thrives in full sun and dry to medium soil.  It creates a sunning hedge in the summer time with it’s masses of flowers
• Lavender Fathead
  A more compact variety which blooms almost continuously from mid-late spring to late summer, it has plump round flower heads topped with long lasting dark purple flowers which fade to pink as they mature, silver foliage and again highly aromatic, another variety loved by bees and butterflies

To see our full range of lavenders please click here

Thyme can be used for both culinary and decorative, it is a versatile plant to grow in the garden, pots, as hedging or the smaller varieties can be grown in between paving stones.

Thyme plants benefit from a little neglect, it grows well in poor soil with little water.  It enjoys a sunny, sheltered position.  In late autumn it will need some protection, such as mulch will will need removing again in spring.

Harvesting is easy, just cut it as needed, thyme is generally established after about a year and it’s very hard to over harvest after this time.  For the first year do not cut back more than one third of your plant.

Once your plant starts to become woody and produce fewer leaves (generally after about three years), it should be dug up and divided to make new plants.

We have a wide range of Thyme which can be seen here but if you are unsure which to choose why not try our Thyme collection

Basil is an annual herb most commonly known for being used in Italian cooking.  It can be grown outside from spring and leaves can be harvested well into the autumn.

Plant any variety of basil outside once all danger of frost has passed, ideally in a sunny sheltered location with will drained soil or in pots, for plants grown in pots these can be moved into bigger pots if roots start to show through drainage holes.

Pinch the tips of branches regularly to keep the plants bushy and productive and remove flowers as they start to develop.

See what basil we currently have available here or if you would like to see all varieties we supply then please see our catalogue

Commonly used culinary herbs are easy to grow in herb gardens, pots and containers and a variety of other places.  Easy annuals include basil, coriander and dill, for biennials try caraway, chervil and parsley or for the longer lasting perennials chives, mint, sage and thyme.

Most herbs grow best with full sun and light in well-drained, moisture retaining soil, feeding on a regular basis will also help their growth.