Dads in the Garden

Is your Dad a gardener? In my experience there are two categories of Dads who garden. They are either ...the Dad who gets in there and does it all (planning his planting, tending his plants, weeding and proudly harvesting his bounty)... or they are in the second category - Dads who only work under supervision. Don't get me wrong, these Dads are very happy to be pottering about in the garden, but they are also happy to be assigned the tasks rather than trying to make gardening decisions that are best left to the other half.

We see lots of both types of gardening Dads here at Kings Seeds, buying their seed in the Spring. For Dads in the second category, gardening-wife says "we need this". He then says "what about this?" and she usually has a very valid answer that he is willing to take on board - for instance: "We don't have enough room to grow any more tomatoes that need staking". One customer came in with his lovely wife who had list in hand, helped her find all the varieties on the list and then duly announced that he was the walking credit card - where should he walk to?

Of course, then there are the Dads who have wandered happily about finding the vegetable seeds they have on their garden plan. Suddenly they find themselves confronted with gardening-wife who has made her own selections from the flower range. This sometimes produces an odd muttering and groaning sound emitting from the husband and if you are standing close enough, you may hear the words "Who needs all those flowers when I could be planting more veges?".

I don't wish to generalise but so often it's the man of the house who gets to tell us all about his garden as he waits patiently for the lady of the house to make her much considered selections. He has already made his decisions and found all the packets he requires.

We see a lot of Dads who just love growing tomatoes and pumpkins. They tend to be very knowledgeable and show a lot of passion while choosing which varieties to grow. They usually have great tips, too, on how to get the biggest ... or tastiest .... or just the best produce.

********* FATHER'S Day - Sunday 1st September *********

We have some great Gift Ideas for Dads or Grandads who garden. If you would like to purchase a gift for them via our website, you can put their address in the delivery address fields and we can send the parcel directly to them. Our choice of Selections take all the hard work out of making the choices, so maybe one of these would be a great gift. Listed below are some of the selections that might appeal to a gardening Dad....

Grow your own Giants selection

If Dad or Grandad gets excited about how big he can get his vegetables to grow, then we have two different size selections for you to choose from.

SEL025 (Grow your own Giants 5 pack); Carrot Orange Jumbo, Onion White Musona, Leek Carentan Giant, Radish German Giant, Tomato Delicious.

SEL024 (Grow your own Giants 10 pack); Same as above with the addition of Cauliflower Giant of Naples, Pepper Chinese Giant, Pumpkin Atlantic Giant, Watermelon Carolina Jumbo, Zucchini Rampicante.

Sunflower selection

Does he like growing sunflowers? The number of photos we get for our yearly photo competition indicates that this is one variety of flower that men tend to enjoy growing, especially with their grandchildren.

SEL006 (Sunflower Mix and Match): Firecracker, Moulin Rouge, Sonja, Teddy Bear, Vanilla Ice.

Bring on the Bees selection

Those all important little pollinators love all the flowers included in this pack. Having plenty of bees in the garden helps to ensure good pollination and plentiful crops.

SEL009 (Bring on the Bees); Anise Hyssop, Bergamot Bee Balm, Borage, Monarda Panorama Mix, Phacelia Lacy.

Best Gourmet Veges selection

Maybe he just loves his veges, so this is a good safe selection of some of our top-sellers.

SEL020 (Best Selling Gourmet Vegetables); Bean Top Crop, Beetroot Cylindra, Carrot Touchon, Corn Florida Supersweet, Cucumber Lebanese, Mesclun Lettuce Mix, Parsnip Guernsey, Pepper Bell Colour Mix, Tomato Black Cherry, Zucchini Black Coral.

Best Organic Veges selection

Are chemicals and sprays banned from your Dad's garden? Here are some of our top-selling organic seeds to grow vegetables.

SEL019 (Best Selling Organic Vegetables): Bean Slenderette, Beetroot Detroit Dark Red, Carrot Rainbow Blend, Cucumber Tendergreen, Lettuce Paris White Cos, Onion Red Amposta, Pea Progress, Radish Easter Egg, Tomato Gardeners Delight, Zucchini Black Beauty.

Best selling Peppers and Chillies selection

This is a range of sweet and hot for those Dad's that like a bit of spice in their life.

SEL021 (Best Selling Peppers and Chillies); Pepper Bell Colour Mix, Pepper Jingle Belles, Pepper Marconi Red, Chilli Cayenne Long Thin, Jalapeno Early.

Veges for Beginners selection

Has Dad recently retired and is needing a new project? How about this selection for him to play with?

SEL014 (Veges for Beginners); Bean Top Crop, Mesclun Lettuce Mix, Pea Sugar Snap, Tomato Baxters Early Bush, Zucchini Black Beauty.

To find any of the above selections on our website, use the 'Selections' Category or enter the catalogue numbers (listed above - they start with SEL, eg SEL021) in the search box.

If you are still stuck, there are vouchers to choose from so he can shop online himself. Either way, have fun giving your Dad some joy on Father's Day because they are worth it especially when they turn up with a lovely big crop of veges for you.