A seed supplier that has been brought to our attention

[Lyn and Malcolm]

Lyn's ex husband ( yes they do still speak to each other) has a relative that has just started working for this supplier.
Had a quick look at prices, and they seem to do a lot of seed in a packet for a very decent price, and no carriage charge on seed.

http://www.molesseeds.co.uk/

Notice also that there are cultivation notes for some of the seeds as well.

Malcolm

[ideasguy]

Interesting! They are wholesale. Do they also sell to non-trade?

I like this:
http://www.molesseeds.co.uk/acatalog/Products_Purple_Volcano_3483.html

[Lyn and Malcolm]

Is there a minimum order value?   
Yes. We have a minimum order value of £5.00 (after discounts but before VAT or carriage charges).
 

And yes they sell to anyone.

Malcolm

[ideasguy]

And I recommend these:
http://www.molesseeds.co.uk/acatalog/Products_Tom_Pouce_Series_2997.html
I was introduced to 'Tom Pouce' by neighbours who have this beautiful prize winning garden which I bypass regularly when walking to get my lift to work .
Heres the photo I took:
http://www.ideasforgardens.com/gardens/pics0032/Photo_Details/photo_details_5.html
Look through the set when you are there. Sadly my friend Mrs Laffin (in one of the photos) passed away a few years ago. Her husband carries on with the garden, but some of the beds are now in grass for easier maintenance.
I tried some seed from Laffins and managed to grow their Tagetes and Tom Pouce. Both need to be grown from seed each year. The Laffins saved seed and keep them going every year.

[Lyn and Malcolm]

Another to add to our list for next year George thanks, we have a few Delphinium in our garden, and particularly like this one Delph Blue Butterfly, it has got through the winter so far this year. A neibours cat nearly destroyed it last year. We know whose cat it was because we caught it on a infra red illuminated camera one night.

The Laffins garden looks like it was a labour of love for them, all those annuals, I can see why your dog was tied up away from the garden 



Malcolm

[ideasguy]

Butterfly Blue is in my Chiltern seed order this year, and thats thanks to you (that photo in your WPG Plant List)
Does it come back each year for you? Did you grow it from seed?

I searched the web for Tom Pouce a couple of years ago, with no luck, except a mention on a French web site.

I went thhrough the Moles web site in more detail today. They sell larger quantities than norm, for the trade obviously, so prices appear to be a little higher in comparison. Their photos are good, and I found a few plants of interest.

[Lyn and Malcolm]

Does it come back each year for you? Did you grow it from seed?

We didn't grow it from seed George, bought as a plant, we have lost them before in winter, but last years plant is doing fine at the moment, exposed to that -10.3c we had, but it does have some shelter from a Birch tree nearby although of course there were no leaves on the tree during the winter. 

Glad you found the link of some interest.

Malcolm

[Lyn and Malcolm]

To avoid confusion ours is Delphinium grandiflorum 'Blue Butterfly'

Chilterns are listed as Delphinium chinensis 'Blue Butterfly'

Malcolm

[ideasguy]

Yours appears to be the correct name, and thats what I have in the Master Database.
If you search the RHS on Delphinium chinensis it doesnt give any results.

But, I gotta go with the Chiltern name in their Catalog. I havent researched very much on it.
Google brings up a few pages, but grandiflorum is widespread.

I have encountered two cultivars of the same name in the same genus, in different species, so it is possible (but unlikely) that it is a different plant. That sort of confusion makes it very difficult for the non-botanist!
I note that you use the RHS button in IG Pro for validation (I meant to comment on that in another thread somewhere) so I'm delighted you are finding that useful. Its the best resource I know for correct names, and that is the standard I work to.

[Lyn and Malcolm]

I note that you use the RHS button in IG Pro for validation

There are a few plants in our Wpg that I cant validate, some may be too new to be on the Rhs list yet 

The ability to check the plants from within IG pro was a Masterfull idea from you.

Malcolm

[ideasguy]

Did you know you can "hack" when you get into the screen GA100S61?

If you don't get a hit, edit the text in the Search Term field
Theres a few buttons at the bottom to help you with that.
G takes the name of the plant you entered to begin the search and changes the Search text to Genus only.
G+S takes the name of the plant you entered to begin the search and changes the Search text to Genus and Species only.
G+C takes the name of the plant you entered to begin the search and changes the Search text to Genus and Cultivar only.

Its amazing how well that works to find the name of a plant. As you know, one character out and you don't get a hit.
Typical example of a difficult one is a Cultivar name with a persons Initials
e.g.
Clematis 'C.W. Dowman'
In cases like that, when I get the name appearing, I click on the link on the RHS page and get to a screen where I can copy the text, then paste that into IG, to get it exactly right.

Heres another tip:
When entering a cultivar name in the edit screen in GA100S02, you can un-check the proper check box if necessary.
You have to do that for that one given in the example above.

Matter of interest, did our IG Pro members know about those two features?

[Trevor Ellis]

Another to add to our list for next year George thanks, we have a few Delphinium in our garden, and particularly like this one Delph Blue Butterfly, it has got through the winter so far this year.

Delphinium grandiflorum is indeed a gem Malcolm though it's tender and so needs protection if it's to stand a chance. It's also susceptible to diseases, snails, slugs, insects and even over-heating according to some. But what a wonderful and intense blue - well worth a bit of extra care and attention isn't it.