They have loads of lettuces available at Thompson & Morgan
Here are some bargains – grow a few lettuce leaves in pots! Sow little and often for a regular supply!
Don’t forget you can cook lettuce as well as eat it raw in salads.

Salad Leaves ‘Niche’ – RHS Garden Explorers Children’s Seeds – 1 packet (200 seeds) £0.99
Do you think plain old lettuce is boring? See how many different shaped, coloured and flavoured leaves you can grow with this lovely mixture. You can harvest me almost all through the year as well. I can be grown in the garden or in containers on the patio.Contents: Radish Saisai, Edible Leaf Carrot, Cress Wrinkled Crinkles, Kale Red Russian, Golden Purslane, Salad Burnet, Amaranth Red Garnet.

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Thompson & Morgan have some great Begonias available

Begonia x tuberhybrida ‘Fragrant Fountains® Mixed’ – 5 tubers £9.99
 Customer Rating WORLD EXCLUSIVEOrder early for best resultsInspired by the beautifully perfumed ‘Aromantics® ‘. After painstaking work with the world’s top begonia breeder, we’ve improved this already amazing begonia by giving it a wonderfully cascading habit! With an addictive range of scents, from fresh lemon and soft rose to cinnamon and spices, Begonia ‘Fragrant Fountains®’ makes a charming display in baskets, beds and containers. Begonias are becoming the UK’s most reliable basket and container plant thanks not only to their beauty, but also to their ability to withstand whatever the UK weather throws at them – hot, dry, wet or cold, you name it, they just keep on flowering on and on! Height and spread: 30cm (12″).Useful links:How to grow bulbs, corms and tubers  Culinary note: Some parts of these flowers are edible. For more details about edible flowers click here.

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Thompson & Morgan have some great deals

Patio, Bedding and Basket Pack variety – 108 plugs – 12 of each variety £18.99
Everything you need for your beds, borders and baskets! This fabulous collection will fill your garden with colour that will last all summer long.In this great value collection you will receive 12 plugs each of Petunia ‘Frenzy Mixed’, Salvia ‘Blaze of Fire’, Verbena ‘Quartz Mixed’, Begonia ‘Organdy Mix’, Antirrhinum ‘Madame Butterfly’, Marigold ‘Zenith’, Sweet Pea ‘Sugar n Spice’™, Petunia ‘Easy Wave’ and Lobelia ‘Ultra Cascade’. See individual products for more details.

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Bulbs are always worth the wait! You buy them generally in the autumn, plant them and then they’re invisible until the spring!

Some really exciting Daffodils at Thompson & Morgan

Narcissus ‘Pretty in Pink’ Collection – 30 bulbs £20.99
Pretty in pink! This quintessential pink daffodil collection boasts a delicate blend of narcissus each chosen for their spectacular colour and form. Whether grown in bold drifts in cottage garden borders, or planted in prominent patio containers, these really are a must for every garden. Try planting up an indoor display for a sunny windowsill, or cut some stems for your favourite vase. Height: 45cm (18″). Spread: 15cm (6″).Useful links:How to grow bulbs, corms and tubers 

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My mini daffodils have opened! They’re very tiny and very cute!

I have spent the weekend on my allotment. I aquired some old scaffolding boards last week so we have been putting them round beds. It’s hard work though! I’ve also done some digging over – have got my onion bed almost ready and have weeded another bed too! Am starting to think about potato planting too!

Thompson & Morgan have Russian Tarragon and Sweet Mace which can be used as a tarragon substitute.

Russian Tarragon – 1 packet (350 seeds) £1.99
Similar to French tarragon, but producing a more vigorous plant. Russian Tarragon produces branching stems of lance-shaped, aromatic foliage can be used for tarragon vinegars, in white sauces and salad dressings, or with chicken, fish and egg dishes. Height: 90cm (36″). Spread: 45cm (18″).

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Thompson & Morgan have tons of great plants for beeds – this hyssop is great for both the bees and the kitchen.

Hyssopus officinalis ‘Tricolour Mixed’ – 1 packet (200 seeds) £1.99
A beautifully aromatic herb with a pungent tang suitable for meat dishes, beans and salads. Hyssop makes an attractive plant for the border where it will attract bees and butterflies. This exclusive blend brings together a pretty mix of blue, pink and white blooms. Height: 60cm (24″). Spread: 100cm (39″).Useful links:How to grow herbs  Culinary note: Some parts of these flowers are edible.

Growing herbs is easy and they form an aromatic haven in your garden. Grow near the kitchen to encourage you to get out there and use them.

Thompson & Morgan have these foxgloves.

Note: if you want them to self seed year after year then don’t buy the Polka Dot Pippa one as it’s sterile and won’t set seed.
Growing the others from seed should all set seed. They only flower in their second year from seed though.

A fantastic bee friendly plant that does well in shaded areas or sunny spots. A true cottage garden flower.

Foxglove ‘Polka Dot Pippa’ – 3 plants in 5cm pots £11.99
The longest flowering foxgloves
Mail order exclusiveT&M’s own breeding
This incredible digitalis hybrid comes direct from our own breeding program. Uniform, well branched plants produce architectural, pink-apricot flower spikes packed with evenly spaced blooms. Unlike traditional foxgloves, the sterile flowers of these incredible new varieties will last for weeks and weeks, providing a spectacular display that won’t self seed. Height: 60cm (24”). Spread: 45cm (18”).

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Why you should have an allotment: reasons why allotmenting is so popular.

The immediate benefit is being able to grow your own food. This is very appealing to people, especially as inflation has pushed the price of food up. You can grow and harvest food and get it on your plate in a really short time. This means you can enjoy the freshest vegetables ever. You will find that home grown new potatoes are just amazing, and that home grown tomatoes are the best in the world.
You can also grow organically which adds an extra premium value to the food you grow.
As you get more experience you’ll learn what to grow so you always have something to eat from your plot.

You can save money by growing your own fruit and vegetables too. Soft fruit is easy to grow and is very expensive to buy so makes an ideal thing to get on your allotment. A few raspberry canes will provide you with plenty of fresh fruit. Careful planting with cloches can extend the season at either end too enabling you to grow more than you’d think.

You help the environment by cutting down the food miles your food travels. Try not to use the car to drive to the allotment though. Get a push bike if it’s too far to walk.

You can recycle your vegetable peelings too in a useful way. Making your own compost is a great idea and so easy to do.
It’s a bit of space where you can find peace. Many people love the social aspect of being a plot holder, but it’s easy to go and get absorbed in the digging or weeding on the plot and enjoy the tranquillity.

You’ll see tons of wildlife. Even if your plot is in a town you’ll spot lots of wildlife. There are foxes that visit our allotment and whilst the cubs bouncing on plants are a nuisance they’re very cute to watch. You’ll see butterflies and bees and all sorts of insects. You can encourage them with a small pond on your plot too. You’ll appreciate the important job bees do in pollinating our fruit and vegetables too – so remember to grow a few flowers especially for them.

An allotment is great exercise. The regular activity even if it’s not strenuous is good for you. If you have low fitness levels then you can do things at your own pace and get fitter and healthier. It’s great being outside too in the sunshine soaking up vitamin D.
Think of an allotment as a gym. Some people pay £30 plus a month to have access to the facilities at a gym. An allotment can be a full body workout – just remember to warm up and stretch your muscles gently before digging, and don’t overdo it! It is best not to dig loads the first time as you’ll really suffer the next day.
In summer there’s more weeding to do, and hopefully the weather is better during the summer months.

Allotments are often social places. Some have busy social calendars and some don’t, but most gardeners will be happy to chat about plants and their plot. You’ll almost always find someone with advice for you if you get stuck. You can take friends with you if they want to get stuck in to some serious digging too.

It’s a relaxing hobby that is great for you. Being outside, gently exercising, growing good food has to be one of the more chilled out hobbies available. It can be lots of fun growing things, although frustrating battling the slugs and weeds sometimes but if you stick at it the rewards taste delicious!

So get your name on the local waiting list at the nearest allotment to you. Go and see them fairly often too – offer to get stuck in helping anyone who needs a hand.

This page reckons there are lots of things you can grow in the shady area of your garden.
Plenty of veg and some herbs, but not much fruit as that needs sun to ripen – there’s still some though! Well worth a look.