WELCOME to Plant With Matt

This page is not a blog page but is a point of contact where you can find out a bit about me, get contact info if you want to chat about plants and gardening, find out about my gardening writing (new titles coming soon!), request my seed sales list and link to my social media accounts.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@plantwithmatt

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569320571937

Pinterest: https://uk.pinterest.com/plantwithmatt/

email: hello@plantwithmatt.co.uk

FIRSTLY, A BIT ABOUT ME...AND HOW MY PLANTS AND GARDENING STORY BEGAN...

I started gardening at a young age. I was five years old and had a fascination, as many children do, with what my parents did.

My parents were reasonable gardeners and planted spring bulbs, summer bulbs, bedding plants and my dad liked to grow a few vegetables.

The first plants I ever grew were brussels sprouts. Not an exciting choice for a 5 year old and especially one that did not like Brussel Sprouts, BUT it was a start. I also grew carrot tops in water but was disappointed when told that they would not grow into carrots. But buoyed by these early successes my mum spoke to my Grandad who always grew vegetables and Dahlias in summer. He got me a seed starter kit from Woolworths for Christmas. It was Mesembryanthemum (Livingstone Daisy). Those starter kits in the 80's were far from ideal, really. I had a huge number of seedlings germinate only to get really overcrowded and leggy. But after some pricking out and potting on, I got a good number into flower in a small border in the summer. I was on a roll...all sorts of plants and bulbs followed. I grew Hippeastrum (Amaryllis), Gladioli and Dahlias as well as more summer bedding plants and indoor plants such as cacti, succulents, streptocarpus and a very expensive Cymbidium .

My dad was in the Royal Airforce and after moving every 1-2 years following him around, we settled into a house in the country in the South West of England. The house had a very big garden. I got a greenhouse from my parents for my 11th birthday and I grew lots of summer bedding plants. Antirrhinums (snapdragons), Asters, Petunias, Nemesias, Lobelia and French and African Marigolds. I had so many that I sold the surplus plants on a small makeshift stall at the roadside in front of the house. The plant sales were a great success and I grew more and more each year, progressing to a commercial polytunnel as I needed much more growing space. After years of growing annuals, I developed an interest in growing perennials.

Perennials became my favourite group of plants and they had a summer-long sales season. For my school work experience I accompanied a TV crew filming a national gardening program and also spent a week working in the nursery and gardens at East Lambrook in Somerset which is the spiritual home of Cottage Gardening as it is where the first Cottage Garden was created and written about by the garden writer, Margery Fish.

My plant sales continued and became another milestone in not only my gardening hobby but my life. I have sold plants both as a part-time but considerable extension of my hobby for many years and I imported and exported tropical plants full-time as my primary income for almost 20 years.

I moved to SE Asia in the early 2000s and that opened up the opportunity to grow exciting tropical plants, 365 days a year. My interest in plants has taken me to many countries and continues to do so until today. I only sell plants and seeds as a hobby these days as I focus on teaching and writing but I still keep myself busy with plant and gardening photography and video making and I split my time between Asia and Europe.

SEED SALES

I sell seeds of rare and unusual plant varieties, especially varieties that are not sold by commercial seed companies.

These are mostly tropical and sub-tropical terrarium and conservatory plant varieties.

The seed list is updated monthly and can be ordered from at any time.

I collect and pack the seeds myself to ensure the best quality and service.

I ship worldwide by airmail. Small seeds travel easily and discreetly. I do not offer phytosanitary certs due to the costs involved.

To order seed, simply request the seed list then email your order and I will total it up and email you the total cost. Payment is by Paypal, WISE or BACS.

To receive the seeds list, just email: hello@plantwithmatt.co.uk

MY PLANT AND GARDENING WRITING....

All guides are available in .pdf form

A GARDEN FROM SEED - Secrets to growing from seed

Seeds are the natural way to propagate and seeds represent the best value for money way to grow a garden. Seeds are the entry-level, starting point for so many of us gardeners and it's how I started gardening more than 40 years ago.

This guide will provide you with some ideas, inspiration and know-how to allow you to grow flowers, trees, shrubs, fruits, vegetables and herbs at home.

Various groups of plants and the techniques used to grow them from seed are discussed.

Topics include:

Where to start...

What to sow...

When to sow...

How to sow...

Collecting seeds...

FAQs are answered, such as:

How deep should seeds be planted?

What compost do I need?

Can soil be used?

Can I sow outside?

How many varieties should I grow?

Which seeds will give me flowers this year?