Seeds, seeds and more seeds (and some more for good luck)

There is a strict set of rules to follow when buying seeds for the planting year ahead.

• Make sure you have checked what you already have, so you don't buy duplicates

• Make a list of what you want to grow, and make a planting plan to make sure each plant will have somewhere to be grown

• Research each variety in detail; is it early or late? disease resistant? any particular growing conditions that you may struggle to provide?

• Only buy seeds for the varieties that meet your harvesting requirements, and the criteria above

• Buy less not more - the garden centre is just up the road, and you can always arrange a seed, seedling or plant swap with other local gardeners.

• Take the opportunity to shop around a bit, making sure that you're getting the seeds and varieties that you want

So, time to shop. I found that Thompson and Morgan, who I'll admit I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with, was having an 89p seed sale, so to hell with the plan: seed ordering was go-go-go.

I tried very (very!) hard to only buy edibles, and companion plants for the edibles, and then just a *few* packets of flowers that I knew I wanted to grow. For this I focussed on those that could be direct sown outside, where thy were to grow - as space in the propagator and little plastic greenhouse is going to be tight. I think I did very well...

After only four infuriating basket-emptying website glitches I'd narrowed it down to just 159 packets. The selection was then taken to The Committee (aka the kids) who helped me weed out any varieties with names they didn't like. Pea Meteor, Courgette (Landrover) Defender, Pea Boogie (BOGEY!!!!), Parsnip Gladiator, Squash Spaghetti, Peanuts (seriously?!) Climbing Bean Mamba Broccoli Komodo and Tomato Orange Beauty all made the cut, as did Cucumbers Nimrod, Jogger and Goblin. Plus some poached eggs plants, and some snake gourds...and a couple (ahem) of others....so 68 packets ordered.

For the flower seeds I treated myself to some from Sarah Raven's website. I spent a wonderful afternoon a couple of years ago wondering around her garden. Even in September it was a riot of colour, alive with the hum of insects. Her collections are all just so deliciously tempting, and in colours and combinations I'd never think of putting together by myself. I tend to gravitate towards blues, and whites and purples. Safe and muted. Not very bight and summery - the yellowest I do is a sunflower. So: concerted effort to Be More Colourful this year. Other than the meadow for birds seeds, I went for cut flowers: super speedy, amber and umber mix, and a jewel mix. Then just to give myself no excuses not to have a decent cutting patch this year, I added a hardy annual cut flower collect, that even comes with a planting plan. So hopefully I'll have vases of flowers to brighten the house for a good few months of the year. By choosing direct-sow seeds I'm also hoping that it will be simple to fill beds and containers with months of colour - as well as being cheaper than buying bedding plants.

I also bought a variety of potatoes, ranging from first earlies to late maincrop, again in the hope that we have a decent supply throughout the year.

• Sarah Raven Flowers £33.41

• T&M Flowers £17.80

• T&M Edibles £44

• T&M Seed potatoes £33.97

So all in all I've spent £129.18 on seeds, and can supplement this further with the couple (ahem) of packets left over from last year's crazed seed-purchasing spree. So, even though I may have deviated *slightly* from my own strict seed planning and purchasing rules, this all feeds in to three points on The Master List: 1. Fruit and Veggies, 4. Cutting Garden and 5. Wildflower and Wildlife Areas, so we're off to a good start.

And now the real work begins! No, not the digging and sowing and tending to the seedlings, silly, the Colour Coded Planting Spreadsheet!

Best get the fire lit and the wine poured.