Seed Subscription: Flower, Arid Climate, Autumn 2025

Subscriptions are an excellent way to explore new seed varieties without having to spend time choosing the seeds yourself, and are perfect for busy gardeners, delivering seeds and all the information you need to plant them directly to your letterbox. 

Each season we’ll choose a selection of seed varieties tailored to your climate, and send you the seeds plus a colour information sheet with photos, tips and sowing information - all you need to do is plant!

You are currently viewing a single season of seeds which can be purchased individually. To subscribe to a years worth of seeds click here.

Seeds included in this subscription:

• 

  Hollyhock- Chaters Double Mix

  Short-lived perennial, typically grown as biennial/annual, reaching 250cm. Produces large stems with paeony-form double flowers in various colours. Ideal for borders, walls, fences, and as cut flowers. Attracts butterflies and bees. Long flowering.

  Raise seedlings, 6mm. Germination 10-14 days @ 18-28°C.Perennial (usually grown as an annual). Height 250cm, Spacing 40cm. 150-200 days.

  Best months in Arid Climates: MAR APR MAY JUN (Click for full sowing chart, grow guide and more)

• 

  Nigella- Persian Jewels Mix

  Annual growing to 45cm. Also known as "Love in a mist". Plants have feathery green foliage and produce decorative flowers in a range of colours. Good for borders, mass plantings and as a cut flower.

  Sow direct or raise seedlings, 3mm. Germination 7-14 days @ 16-18°C.Annual. Height 45cm, Spacing 30cm. 100 days.

  Best months in Arid Climates: FEB MAR APR MAY JUN (Click for full sowing chart, grow guide and more)

• 

  Linaria- Northern Lights Mix

  Annual plant growing to 60cm. Mini snapdragon-like flowers in various colours with yellow throats and long spurs. Ideal for edging, beds, rockeries, cut flowers, or meadow plantings. Also known as 'Spurred' or 'Mini Snapdragon'.

  Sow direct, 5mm. Germination 14-21 days @ 20-30°C.Annual. Height 60cm, Spacing 30cm. 70 days.

  Best months in Arid Climates: FEB MAR APR MAY JUN (Click for full sowing chart, grow guide and more)

• 

  Lupin- Russell Mix

  Perennial up to 90cm. Green palmate leaves with solid spikes of scented pink and purple flowers in spring and late summer. Attracts bees, good for cut flowers. Ideal at the back of beds for height. Tolerates poor soil. Lupins fix nitrogen, improving soil.

  Sow direct or raise seedlings, 15mm. Germination 15-75 days @ 12-22°C.Perennial. Height 90cm, Spacing 50cm. 200 days.

  Best months in Arid Climates: APR MAY JUN (Click for full sowing chart, grow guide and more)

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• 

  Statice- Twilight Lilac

  A perennial usually grown annually, grows to 80cm with green leaves and long stems carrying small, lilac flowers. Ideal for borders, cottage gardens, containers, or rockeries. Attracts bees, tolerates drought, and thrives in poor soils.

  Sow direct, 6mm. Germination 7-14 days @ 22-24°C.Perennial (usually grown as an annual). Height 80cm, Spacing 40cm. 150 days.

  Best months in Arid Climates: MAR APR MAY JUN JUL (Click for full sowing chart, grow guide and more)

• 

  Forget Me Not- Choice Mix

  Biennial plant growing to 30cm with green leaves, small flowers in blue, white, pink with yellow centre's. Ideal for borders, meadows, woodlands, containers, and as cut flowers. Tolerates most soils and positions. Attracts bees and butterflies.

  Sow direct, 5mm. Germination 10-14 days @ 18-22°C.Biennial. Height 30cm, Spacing 30cm. .

  Best months in Arid Climates: MAR APR MAY (Click for full sowing chart, grow guide and more)

• 

  Everlasting Daisy- Copper Red

  Australian native daisy, up to 80cm, with large copper-red flowers and golden-orange centres. Ideal for native gardens, containers, borders, coastal areas, and rockeries. Low maintenance, drought-tolerant, and poor soil tolerant.

  Raise seedlings or sow direct, 1mm . Germination 7-14 days @ 18-21°C.Perennial (short lived). Height 80cm, Spacing 55cm. 80 days.

  Best months in Arid Climates: MAR APR MAY JUN JUL (Click for full sowing chart, grow guide and more)

• 

  Candytuft- Umbellata Mixed

  Easy-to-grow, 30cm flowering annual. Bushy plants yield fragrant flowers in purple, lavender, pink, white. Ideal for borders, beds, containers. Attracts bees, butterflies. Also known as 'Annual/Globe Candytuft'.

  Sow direct or raise seedlings, 5mm. Germination 16-20 days @ 18-30°C.Annual. Height 30cm, Spacing 20cm. 90-100 days.

  Best months in Arid Climates: MAR APR MAY JUN (Click for full sowing chart, grow guide and more)

• 

  Cornflower- Classic Fantastic

  Annual up to 100cm. Mix of single, semi-double flowers in shades of blue, often bicoloured. Suitable for borders, meadows, pollinator gardens, and as cut flowers. Edible, drought and frost tolerant, grows in poor soil. A Fleuroselect novelty winner.

  Sow direct or raise seedlings, 5mm. Germination 7-14 days @ 15-18 °C.Annual. Height 100cm, Spacing 20cm. 70 days.

  Best months in Arid Climates: APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT (Click for full sowing chart, grow guide and more)

• 

  Sweetpea- Lilac Ripple

  Annual climber to 200cm. Large flowers with rippled or wavy petals are streaked with lilac-mauve. Flowers are strongly fragrant and are carried on sturdy stems making them an ideal choice for the garden as well as cut flowers.

  Sow direct, 25mm. Germination 14-21 days @ 13-18°C.Annual. Height 180cm, Spacing 15cm. 100 days.

  Best months in Arid Climates: FEB MAR APR MAY (Click for full sowing chart, grow guide and more)

Tips for gardening in autumn:

Build soil health:  Autumn is a good time to enrich your soil with organic matter so it’s ready for new planting. Spread a layer of compost on the surface before planting seeds or seedlings - there’s no need to dig it in, the worms and other invertebrates in your garden will do that work for you. For large, healthy blooms add some aged animal manure or slow-release fertiliser to feed your plants through winter.

Save seeds of summer annuals: Seeds of dahlias, cosmos, asters and other summer annuals can be saved once flowers have faded. Pinch off flower heads and dry them on a paper towel indoors for a week to ensure they are fully dry. Remove any remaining petals and place the dried flower heads in a paper bag for storage. Even if not saving seeds, leave some stems and seed heads of flowers in situ to provide food and nesting material for birds and insects.

Prepare for spring flowers: It may seem too early to be thinking about spring, but autumn is the best season to plant spring flowering bulbs such as daffodils, anemone, ranunculus and tulips. In warm climates, wait until late autumn when the soil has cooled for healthier and larger flowers. 

Hardy annuals and biennial flowers, including Canterbury bells and Honesty, should also be started in autumn so plants are large and mature enough to flower in early spring. The seedlings of these plants can sometimes look a little ragged by the end of winter, but their roots are spreading through the soil ready to support strong growth in spring. 

Pests and diseases to look out for in autumn:

Grey mould: Botrytis is a fungal disease that causes flowers to become mouldy and soft fruit such as strawberries to rot. Spores are transported by wind and can survive in soil or on green waste. The fungus spreads most in humid, cool weather.

To avoid problems with grey mould, water plants at soil level (not on leaves) in the morning, so leaves are not wet overnight. For plants affected by grey mould, prune off affected flowers and fruit and dispose of prunings to the compost bin or green waste bin. If necessary, spray with an appropriate fungicide or with neem oil. 

Powdery mildew: Caused by fungal spores reproducing on the leaves of plants, powdery mildew first looks like white spots on leaves, but affected areas can spread quickly to cover the entire leaf surface with a white powdery coating. While rarely fatal, powdery mildew can reduce yields. Water plants at soil level (not on the leaves) to prevent spores splashing from plant to plant, allow good air flow between plants, remove affected leaves and if necessary spray with an appropriate fungicide or homemade spray. 

Bi-carb of soda, also known as baking soda or sodium bicarbonate, is known to be effective at reducing powdery mildew and several other common fungus problems without posing the toxic risks of other treatments. Simply dissolve a teaspoon of the powder into one litre of ordinary water and add a few drops of liquid soap to help the mixture stick to the leaves. Pour the mixture into a regular garden sprayer or mister, shake it thoroughly, and spray liberally over the affected plants.

Product code: SS_FLO_ARID_AUT_2025