National Trust Seed Collection
Blue Diamond has been working closely with the National Trust and their gardeners to develop the 2024 Seed Collection.
The resulting collection reflects the beauty of the Trust’s gardens and the tried and tested secrets of its gardening experts.
The Collection consists of 98 varieties and 19 seed mixes inspired by the colours, tones and the historic planting found in Trust gardens. It includes flowering varieties which are ideal for dry flower arrangements and perfect for floral bouquets and plants which are the highlight of National Trust gardens, such as Cosmos at Mottisfont and Sweet Pea at Peckover House.
Our New Collections for 2024 are now available instore and online CLICK HERE TO BUY ONLINE
COLOUR SEED COLLECTIONS
Colour collections form the mainstay of the new 2024 seed range. Perfect for creating a statement in your garden or container, simply plant your favourite shades and hues to recreate your favourite National Trust garden at home.
The Blue Hue Collection
Inspired by the gardens at Wightwick Manor
“Reflecting the spirit of the Arts and Crafts movement here at Wightwick Manor, blue hues in the herbaceous borders are beautiful and functional - blooms of the blue spectrum are seen more keenly by bees than all other floral tones, so are great for encouraging pollination in the garden”
JAMES CARNELL HEAD GARDENER, WIGHTWICK MANOR, NATIONAL TRUST
Image Credit: ©National Trust/Robert Morris
The Pink Pallete Collection
Inspired by the gardens at Snowshill Manor
‘Adding tones of pink into your garden scheme immediately gives a soft, quintessential English garden feel – romantic and old fashioned in a good way!’
VICTORIA CODY SENIOR GARDENER, SNOWSHILL MANOR, NATIONAL TRUST
Image Credit: ©National Trust Images/Sarah Davis
The Red Ember Collection
Inspired by the gardens at Packwood House
‘Vivid reds and glowing ember oranges contrast with cool foliage greens, bringing shimmering summer heat to the border.’
ABIGAIL GULLIVER HEAD GARDENER, PACKWOOD HOUSE, NATIONAL TRUST
Image Credit: ©National Trust Images/Chris Lacey
The Yellow Tones Collection
Inspired by the gardens at Bodnant
‘I love bright pops of sunny yellow in the garden. There are so many tones to choose, from luminous acid yellow through to softer, buttery tones.’
NED LOMAX PRIF ARDDWR/HEAD GARDENER, GARDD BODNANT/BODNANT GARDEN, YMDDIRIEDOLAETH GENEDLAETHOL/NATIONAL TRUST
Image Credit: ©National Trust Images/Rod Kirkpatrick
The Classic White Collection
Inspired by the gardens at Sissinghurst
When planting a white border, it is important to consider introducing a range of green tones along with silver and grey variegated leaves.
TROY SMITH, HEAD GARDENER, SISSINGHURST / NATIONAL TRUST
Image Credit: ©National Trust Images/Eva Nemeth
The Mulberry Collection
Inspired by the gardens at Bateman’s
‘Each year at Bateman’s we sow a colourful mix of seeds for a long summer display in the Mulberry and walled garden. Rudyard Kipling and his family always enjoyed this time of year and annual flowers are perfect for ensuring a mid to late summer show.’
FIONA PARROTT SENIOR GARDENER, BATEMAN’S, NATIONAL TRUST
Image Credit: ©National Trust Images/John Miller
SEED SOLUTION COLLECTIONS
These collections solve practical gardening problems and provides solutions with seed varieties ideal for containers and dry gardens. Also, flowering varieties which are ideal for dry flower arrangements and perfect for floral bouquets.
The Dried Flower Collection
Inspired by the gardens at Clumber Park
‘Growing a variety of flowers specifically for cutting and drying is a great way to create natural, plastic-free seasonal decorations during the autumn and winter months.’
DALE ILES SENIOR GARDENER, CLUMBER PARK, NATIONAL TRUST
Image Credit: ©National Trust Images/Andrew Butler
The Cut Flower Collection
Inspired by the gardens at Baddesley Clinton
‘A mix of annuals seeds chosen for their suitability as cut flowers is a wonderful choice. Something that you can simply just ‘throw and grow’. There is something special and liberating about creating a beautiful floral display that is grown specifically for cut flowers as a lot of people don’t like cutting from their usual garden flowers.’
LUCY SIMPSON SENIOR GARDENER, BADDESLEY CLINTON, NATIONAL TRUST
Image Credit: ©National Trust Images/Robert Morris
The Dry Gardening Collection
Inspired by the gardens at Lytes Cary Manor & Tintinhull Garden
‘Container gardening is a great way to add height and colour to any garden. These plants have been chosen as they can tolerate being used in drier conditions and therefore need less water.’
SAM HICKMOTT HEAD GARDENER, LYTES CARY & TINTINHULL GARDEN, NATIONAL TRUST
Image Credit: ©National Trust Images/Chris Lacey
CENTREPIECE SEED COLLECTIONS
The collections include plant varieties which are the centrepiece, a focal point or important in specific National Trust gardens.
The Cosmos Collection
Inspired by the gardens at Mottisfont
At Mottisfont we like to use a mixture of companion planting, like Cosmos, to complement the roses in the old rose garden. The underplanting adds variety to the colour palette of the roses and their structural form. Self-seeding plants are a low maintenance way of filling the gaps between the more permanent perennials in the borders.
MICHAEL HARVEY SENIOR GARDENER, MOTTISFONT, NATIONAL TRUST
Image Credit: ©National Trust Images/Robert Morris
The Sweet Pea Collection
Inspired by the gardens at Peckover House
Sweet peas are a must for Peckover’s cut flower border, providing a great harvest of scented flowers throughout the summer – the more you pick them, the more they grow!
LOUISE GARDNER SENIOR GARDENER, PECKOVER HOUSE, NATIONAL TRUST
Image Credit: ©National Trust Images/Mike Selby
The Sunflower Collection
Inspired by the gardens at Felbrigg Hall
Sunflowers are easy and fun to grow and make a fabulous cut flower, adding height to the back of a sunny border. Bees love the flowers, and their seed heads are also a great source of food for garden birds. If you have space, it’s also fun to grow runner beans up the tallest stems!
TINA HAMMOND HEAD GARDENER, FELBRIGG HALL, NATIONAL TRUST
Image Credit: ©National Trust Images/Andrew Butler
SEE FULL RANGE HERE - A to Z Collection
Through sales generated from the National Trust Collection by Blue Diamond, a minimum of 10% of the retail sales price per product will be given to the National Trust to help look after nature, beauty and history for everyone, for ever.
