A Frugal Life

Lovage seeds are available at Den's Patch, 30 seeds for £1:20

  Latin Name Levisticum officinale Common Names Bladderseed Hardiness Perennial Herb Height Up to 2 metres Spread Up to 1 metre Soil Type Any moist free draining Sun/Shade Full sun or partial shade Aspect South or West facing Pests No real threats Diseases No real diseases Where to Sow In pots or garden Pollinator Friendly? Yes, honey bees love lovage

  Growing Lovage…

Nasturtium are bee & butterfly magnets with their beautiful, brightly coloured flowers, & their deep green leaves that butterflies lay their eggs on. £1:20 for 20 seeds.

 Latin Name Tropaeolum majus Common Names Indian cress, garden nasturtium Hardiness Annual Height How big is your garden! Spread As above! Soil Type Any well drained Sun/Shade Full sun Aspect South or West facing. For the past 5 years I have grown nasturtium successfully in a North facing garden Pests Greenfly, slugs, blackfly Diseases No known diseases Where to Sow In pots or containers or…

Inside your goody bag is 4 packets of seeds that are full of climbing godness. Yes, quite literally these annual climbers are the gods of climbing in the garden, and you will be hard pushed in finding anything better that can/will climb over anything and everything.

Got a fence or trellis you want to cover? No problemo.

Want a climber to mingle with your other plants? Yep there’s 1 in this pack for that.

Want a climber that’s fragrant? Oh yes we definitely have 1 for you in this pack!

Do you want climbers that are bee and butterfly friendly? Well if I told you that ALL these climbers are firm favourites of our pollinators, would you believe me? Well trust me they ALL ARE!

We have a climber in this goody bag for pretty much any scenario. Even if you aren’t that bothered about covering things in the garden, sowing and growing these climbers’ just for our insects is a HUGE bonus for anyone’s garden, yours included.

The 4 annual climbers included are:

Morning Glory

Nasturtium

Sweet Pea

Black Eyed Susan

Sowing and growing these 4 climbers couldn’t be easier. You can either sow them in the garden where you want them to grow, or in trays/pots in a greenhouse or cold frame. Sowing instructions will be enclosed so don’t worry!

So what are you waiting for? Click on the ‘Buy Now‘ button and grab a bargain! While you are here why not grab some more seeds for the garden? We have a few on offer right now.

Morning Glory

Sweet Pea

Nasturtium

Black Eyed Susan

We start off our Kids Goody Bag series with a favourite of everyone here at Den’s Patch, and that is the Bee and Butterfly Seed Goody Bags. Included in these goody bags are 5 packs of seeds which, when in flower could entice our pollinators and other insects, birds+ and other wildlife+ into your garden.

Lots of Things Included to Keep the Kids Entertained

The goody bags are perfect for kids, with tons of info for them to read, plenty of choices to colour, and then go and do some garden wildlife research. The goody bags contain lots of freebies, from key rings, pens, stickers, even their own tools so they won’t need to borrow yours!

Everything included to sow your seeds outside

FREEBIES Galore in our seeds for kids goody bags

Everything is Included!

If you are planting outside, then everything is included for the kids to go outside and sow and grow. If you decide to start your seeds off indoors, then you will need compost and bio-degradable pots.

Easy to Sow and Grow

The 5 packs of seeds included in the goody bags will bring in insects including our pollinators like Bees and Butterflies. This in turn could bring in birds+, smaller animals+ like hedgehogs, even bats+ could make an appearance when they see the increase of insects readily available in your garden.

They are easy to sow, and the kids (and yourselves!) will have tons of fun sowing and growing these wonderful, beautiful flowers in the garden. 

Cornflower

We’ll start off with a beauty, the cornflower. Cornflower which are a Cornfield Annual Flower, are rare in the wild these days, so growing them in your garden will be a great help especially to our British Pollinators.

Insects that love Cornflower

Bees

Hoverflies

Butterflies

Calendula

 Calendula, pot marigold, or English marigold are easy to grow plants that are not actually related to the Marigold family. Will flower profusely all summer long and her seeds can be widely scattered if left alone.

 Insects that love Calendula

Bees

Hoverflies

Butterflies

English Marigold AKA Pot Marigold, Calendula or ‘Poorman’s Saffron’

So easy to grow & insect magnets

Garden cornflowers are also insect magnets

Some cornflowers come in different colours

Borage 

Only small but packs a powerful punch in the garden. Borage is actually a very beneficial herb, especially towards bees. They continually produce nectar all summer long, giving our pollinators plenty to eat and drink, a bit like your favourite burger place!

 Insects that love Borage 

Bees

Hoverflies

Butterflies

Sunflower

Little (or sometimes HUGE) happy, sunny faces, that’s how I look at sunflowers. The seeds are edible and can be eaten raw or cooked. How about leaving some seed heads on for our garden birds in winter? They too love sunflower seeds.

Insects that love Sunflower

Bees

Hoverflies

Butterflies

Nasturtium

These plants love to ramble and climb so don’t be surprised to see them scrambling up fences, gates and anything else they can find to grow up.

Their red, yellow, orange and multi-coloured flowers are loved by bees, while their leaves are food for the caterpillars of the Cabbage White family of butterflies. Their parents, the Cabbage White, Small White and Large White butterflies will be all over the nasturtium leaves in summer, laying their eggs in neat little rows underneath them.

Insects that love Nasturtium

Bees

Hoverflies

Butterflies

The seeds of these 5 annual plants are easy to sow and grow. It’s best if you sow the seeds directly into the garden when the risk of frost has passed.

+ There is no guarantee bats or any other animals or birds could come to the garden after you have sown your seeds.

 # Actual products in our Goody Bags may differ slightly from those illustrated.

Special Seed packets included

Lots of FREEBIES for the kids!

There’s always something to be done in the garden no matter what time of year it is, and December is no exception. So with that Den’s Patch give you a small rundown of what you can do in the garden in December.

In the Garden

If you still have dahlias in the garden, if the leaves are black by the frosts then lift them. Store them for a few days to dry off, then remove any soil around the tubers…

Coriander 'Leisure' has been 'bred' so that the leaves have a fuller more delicious taste. It's also very slow to bolt so can handle most conditions

  Latin Name Coriandrum sativum Common Names Chinese parsley Hardiness Annual herb Height Up to 60cms Spread Up to 30cms Soil Type Any well drained Sun/Shade Full sun or partial shade Aspect East, South or West facing Pests No known pests Diseases No known diseases Where to Sow In pots or directly in the garden Pollinator Friendly? Yes, most pollinators

  Growing…

Coriander 'Calypso' is the worlds 1st coriander that is classed as a 'cut n come again' coriander, useful if you love this useful #herb.

  Latin Name Coriandrum sativum Common Names Chinese parsley Hardiness Annual herb Height Up to 50cms Spread Up to 50cms Soil Type Any well drained Sun/Shade Full sun or partial shade Aspect East, South or West facing Pests No known pests Diseases No known diseases Where to Sow In pots or directly in the garden Pollinator Friendly? Yes, most pollinators

   Growing…

A lovely oniony smell & taste, perfect for spuds & butters. Pollinators love their flowers and will readily land on them to feed Chives seeds are £1:20 for 40 seeds.

 Latin Name Allium schoenoprasum Common Names Onion grass, cive Hardiness Perennial Height Up to 40cms Spread Up to 30cms Soil Type Any well drained Sun/Shade Full sun or part shade Aspect East, South or West facing. I have chives growing & flowering in the garden which are happy even though it’s North facing Pests Generally pest free Diseases Generally disease free Where to Sow Either in pots or…

It’s December and all around the Northern Hemisphere frost or snow is coating the ground. The icy tendrils stretch and meander all around the ground, climbing up and over everything, coating them in cold white. Not much is moving in the animal and plant worlds, unless looking for food. Humans, huggled up against the cold, go about their business, complaining at the cold and wishing summer was here. Yes, December is here and it’s time to think about seeds and what to sow and grow next Spring!

Without seeds nothing would grow, not even humans. They bring life to everything, even plants, so I wanted to start this new series off with a firm favourite of gardeners, the Cornflower.

It’s Life Jim

Cornflowers, Centaurea cyanus are a native British plant that used to thrive in corn fields, hence the name. Nowadays sadly it’s more or less been eradicated in the wild, instead gardeners like Den’s Patch grow lots of them in our gardens for a summer display of the brightest cobalt blue flowers, that in turn are covered in masses of insects, like bees. Being an Annual plant means cornflowers germinate, grow, flower, seed and die all in one year or season. This means they are quick at what they do; produce flowers that are not only attractive to humans, perfect for cut flowers, but also our British (and other countries) pollinators will be attracted to their electric blue and other coloured flowers as they sway in the gentle summer breeze.

Different Flavours

Nowadays we have a number of varieties that I call Garden Cornflowers. They are still cornflowers, only they have lots of different colours. Different blues, whites, pinks, purples and reds now adorn the tops of the cornflower stems. They have even created a cornflower that has almost black flowers called Black Ball (you can now buy Blackball & a host of other Cornflowers from our shop) to me they look a very dark burgundy colour, but looking at them from another angle they could be black. Whatever colours you have, pollinators just love our cornflowers, no matter the colour.

The Seeds

Once flowering has finished cornflowers go to seed. There are many seeds produced per flower which actually look like old fashioned (I still have one) shaving brushes. They are easy to grow from seed, and I recommend everyone tries cornflowers at least once. They are part of the Cornfield Annual Plants and being native, can be sown during autumn for an early flower display the following summer. Failing that a spring sowing will do just as good, being an Hardy Annual means they can withstand our cold, snowy winters.

Cornflower Seeds look like old fashioned shaving brushes!

Seed of the Month is the Cornflower

These wonderful plants now come in all sorts of colours.

Medicinal and Culinary

There are many uses for the wildflower cornflower, Centaurea cyanus, including culinary. The plant has been used for many hundreds of years in all sorts of things, and the following is just a taster of what useful plants cornflowers are.

Culinary

Flowers are edible and have a cucumber taste to them.

The petals of cornflower can be added to pot pourri, soups and salads, even teas are made with the petals.

Medicinal

Cornflower can even be used medicinally. Throw some flowers in a bath and their soothing effects can ease those stiff muscles after a day’s gardening, hopefully sowing Den’s Patch seeds!

Other uses include rheumatic pain, eye strain, is perfect for all skin types when made into a tonic. There’s just so much these wonderful insect magnets can be used for.

Final Note

Cornflower has a number of other names associated to it, including Bachelor’s Button and the Boutonniere Flower.

It’s called the Boutonniere Flower because, years ago men would wear the cornflower in their jackets as a sign of their eligibility.

In the UK and other Commonwealth Countries, we wear the Red Flanders Poppy (Corn Poppy) during Remembrance Day to remember our War Dead. In France they have the Cornflower which adorns their attire during Remembrance Day.

It’s said that when Howard Carter opened King Tut’s tomb and sarcophagus, around the Kings neck was a necklace of Cornflowers.

I love cornflowers and I hope you do to, especially after reading this short article on them. Why not grow some next year in the garden? They go well in swathes or with many other flowers, calendula, corn marigold, nigella, to name a few all look great next to our cornflower.

Disclaimer

This article is about Cornflowers that you can easily grow to help our beneficial insects like butterflies. Even though there’s mention of medicinal and culinary uses for the Cornfield Annual mentioned above, Den’s Patch will not be held accountable for any harm caused if you, the reader try the plants yourselves in whatever way without first consulting a professional herbalist or your GP.

We grew quite a few sunflowers in our gardens at Den’s Patch this year, and as they finished flowering and dropped their heads we cut them down. But we didn’t throw the stem away, instead we took off the heads, removed any seed if there was any, took off the leaves and any smaller heads and branches, until we were left with a thick bare stem. Then we put them in a corner of the garden to dry out while we waited.

They Might be Useful

Eventually the stems dried out and to be honest they looked like bamboo. When we cut them back earlier I wondered if we could use the stem if it dried, although I had no idea what for. Maybe supports for plants that are drooping and falling over was one option I thought. Another was make wigwams so that sweet peas could scramble up them next summer.

That’s Not a Bad Idea is That!

We were cleaning the garden a few weeks later, when I spotted a few of the sunflower stems in the corner. They had gone brown and dried, so I took one and looked at it. Taking my secateurs I cut the top off as it was bent, broken and falling off, and looked down at the cut. I realised that inside, the stems looked just like bamboo does inside. I took a small skewer and poked it down the ends to make a hole, then had a light bulb moment.

Cutting the stem into ‘almost’ equal lengths I then put them together in my hand to look at them from different angles. I had a small hotel where tiny bugs can check in and spend the winter, nice, dry and warm, while the rest of us freeze our perennials off.

So far we have made 2 mini insect hotels as I didn’t have any twine or string to tie them together. Instead I’m using whatever I have; elastic bands, plastic garden ties, and a small bit of twine I did find lurking underneath my seed envelopes.

Who Wants the Hilton When You Have a Bamboo Stem

Anyway they’re not brilliant but my philosophy is this;

Insects, and other creatures don’t care if their hotel is the Hilton or some lousy B&B in the middle of nowhere. All they want is shelter from the elements. Somewhere where they can watch the world go by while they stay warm, dry and, well, snug as a bug in a sunflower stem.

I made these ‘hotels’ using what I had to hand.

If I were an insect I would take up residence.

I hid them under a paving slab where I already had twigs n other things.

Sunflower seeds £1:20 for 20 seeds #garden #wildlifegardening

 Latin Name Helianthus annuus Common Names St Bartholomew’s star, common sunflower Hardiness Annual Height Up to 3 metres Spread Up to 1 metre Soil Type Any well drained Sun/Shade Full sun Aspect South or West facing Pests Slugs and snails could be a problem in the early stages of growth Diseases Powdery mildew could also be a problem Where to Sow In pots or in the garden Pollinator…

Garden Snips for £1:99 instead of £2:49. Grab them NOW! #Gardening

These garden snips are a handy way in which you can go around the garden, deadheading those pollinator friendly flowers, without carrying those bulky scissors or secateurs.

They fit neatly in the hand and pocket, are very sharp (keep away from small hands and fingers) and perfect for those smaller cutting jobs around the garden.

Perfect for:

Deadheading

Cutting those cut flowers for the house

Tak…

Do you love cornflowers? Would you love to have your garden FULL of cornflowers? Well now you can. 6 packs of Cornflower seed for £5:00 instead of £5:69 #BlackFriday #BlackFriday2018

Do you like cornflowers?

Do you love cornflowers?

Do you really love cornflowers?

Would you love to have your garden FULL of cornflowers?

Well now you can.

Den’s Patch are offering all you cornflower lovers out there the chance to purchase 6 packs of cornflower seed. During the summer the flowers will be inundated with lots of insects including many of our pollinators who just love the pinks,…

Pack 2 of our Bee and Pollinator Seeds For 2019. Yet another set of seeds that are easy to sow and grow, and be a magnet to our pollinators like #bees and #butterflies #gardening

Pack 2

This is pack 2 of the Den’s Patch Bee and Pollinator Seeds, as you’ve probably guessed from the title! Once again these 6 packs of seeds are easy to sow and grow, all it takes is for you to purchase this, and the other packs for a garden to be proud of, and a all you can eat restaurant for our pollinators.

Cornflower

Cornflower Classic Fantastic is a great addition with their blue, purple…

6 Packs of Bee and Pollinator Seeds For 2019. They are easy to sow & grow & our pollinators will thank you for them. Go on, spoil yourself OR your Loved one. #Graden #SeedsForOurPollinators

Pack 1

I know many of you have been looking ahead to 2019 and wanting to create a garden full of plants our pollinators will love. So to make things easier for you I have selected, bagged and tagged 6 pollinator friendly packs of goodness for our important pollinators.

All the plants listed will entice many of our pollinators like bees, butterflies and hoverflies into your garden. They are all…

Scarlet Pimpernel is now a rare sight in the UK. Once considered a weed, her deep red flower is a lovely sight in summer. Why not buy some seed & revive this beauty in you're garden?

 Latin Name Anagallis arvensis Common Names Red chickweed, poor man’s barometer, shepherd’s weather Genus Annual Height Up to 40cms Height Spread Up to 40cms Spread Soil Type Any free draining, can also grow where there’s very little soil like cracks and crevices Sun/Shade Full sun or partial shade Aspect East, South or West facing Pests No real pests Diseases No real diseases to look out…