The Magic of Seeds: The nature-lover’s guide to growing garden flowers and herbs from seed

By Clare Gogerty

The ultimate reference to growing plants from seed.
Seeds are magical. Every little one has the potential to become a new plant and give you more seeds - connecting us to the circle of life and nature's endless ability to surprise and delight. The act of planting seeds and watching them grow into seedlings and then on into productive plants is enormously therapeutic. Even when things don't go to plan, the gardener is constantly learning, growing and deepening their connection to nature. It's an incredibly grounding and humbling experience that feeds the soul of the gardener.
This beautifully illustrated guide will show readers how and when to harvest the seeds of 100 different garden plants and flowers, with advice on when and how to sow them, and where and when to plant them out. Alongside this hands-on guidance, the reader will be engaged with snippets of folklore and traditions that further enhance their appreciation of nature and help them discover the inherent magic of seeds.
Whether the reader is a practising green witch, or simply an amateur gardener with a spiritual affinity with nature, this book will give them everything they need to successfully make a garden from seed and unlock the wonders of nature.

• Language: English
• Publisher: David & Charles
• Release date: Mar 28, 2023
• ISBN: 9781446382127

Clare Gogerty

Clare Gogerty is an author, journalist and award winning editor, working for Coast magazine for six years. She now lives in the countryside, where she writes books, works as a freelance journalist and runs a smallholding including sheep and chickens. Clare also writes travel and lifestyle journalism for the Guardian, Conde Nast Traveller and Homes & Antiques. Her previous titles include Book of the Coast (National Trust), Hidden Villages of Britain (Batsford) and Beyond the Footpath (Piatkus).

Book preview

1 GARLIC

(ALLIUM SATIVUM)

also known as stinkweed

Few kitchens anywhere in the world are without garlic. Originally from India and Central Asia, it has long been cultivated as a seasoning and a medicinal herb. Its seeds are enclosed in a papery sheath in the flowers, but rarely ripen. To grow garlic, use cloves split from bulbs.

Garlic is packed with vitamins and minerals, plus allicin, a compound with antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. The Greek physician Hippocrates recommended it for infections, wounds, cancer, even leprosy, and Egyptian builders chewed it to give them strength when building the pyramids.

THE MAGIC OF GARLIC

Perhaps due to its reputation as a cure-all, garlic has a magical status. Most notoriously, it is believed to keep vampires at bay, but almost every country has its own ideas as to this bulb’s powers, such as shielding against bad weather, monsters, blows from enemies, deterring unwanted lovers and preventing nightmares. Brides once carried a clove on them for good luck.

WILD GARLIC

Allium ursinum appears in damp woodlands in spring, especially beside streams. The froth of white flowers make it easy to identify. All parts of the plant are edible. With a milder flavour than garlic, it is great in salads, soup, mashed potato, and can be made into pesto. Remember to only take what you need.

FLOWERS OFTEN DON'T PRODUCE SEEDS, SO USE CLOVES INSTEAD

LATE AUTUMN, AS NEEDS A PERIOD OF COLD, TO HARVEST THE FOLLOWING SUMMER

IN LATE SUMMER, WHEN THE TOPS HAVE DIED DOWN, LIFT AND LEAVE THE BULBS TO DRY OUT UNDER COVER. THE BEST CAN BE KEPT TO GROW MORE GARLIC THE FOLLOWING