Ross King, founder of the company, was inspired in his lifelong love of herbs by Carmel Hare and Gillian Painter, both noted herbalists. Ross began Kings Seeds by selling herb plants from his backyard before quickly realising that there was demand for herb seed nationwide. The first Kings Seeds catalogue was produced in 1979 with 24 pages listing 65 herbs and flowers, 8 vegetables and 170 herb plants.

In the early 1980’s Ross and his wife, Glenys, started a retail shop on Great North Road. The building with its unique Tudor style became a landmark and remains there today. The shop sold dried flowers, pot pourri, essential oils, gifts, books, seeds and plants with the mail order operation working in tandem. By the early 1990’s a garden was added along with a café serving Devonshire teas whilst the reputation of Kings Seeds continued to grow.

It was about this time that Ross and Gerard Martin were to meet. Gerard called into the Avondale shop and became yet another recipient of Ross’s vast knowledge and more importantly, a friend. Ross & Glenys worked hard to build Kings Seeds into a household name with an extensive range from the standard to the weird and wonderful and after 21 years it was time for a change.

In February 1999, Gerard and Barbara Martin bought the Kings Seeds mail order operation. Gerard a flower grower and Barbara a teacher. The business was relocated to Katikati where the appeal of the Bay of Plenty climate had drawn Gerard and Barbara.

Under Gerard and Barbara’s guidance the business has grown to offer a huge assortment of flower, herb, vegetable, sprouting, microgreen and lifestyle seed to home gardeners and commercial growers throughout New Zealand. We aim to introduce new varieties to our assortment every year and in all we maintain approximately 1000 varieties. Our seed packets are all hand packed and we focus on outstanding customer service and knowledgeable gardening advice for our many customers.