Ruud Kleinpaste: How we plan our garden - Saturday Morning with Jack Tame

The Courier smiled as he deposited the two catalogues on our door-step – he knows we’re Nature Nerds, and so do the lovely folk at Kings Seeds.   

We both settled in front of the fireplace, going through the Nurture/Nourish reading. I was checking all the tomato varieties and other food delicacies, while Juuls browsed all the pretty stuff in Kings Seeds line-up.  

Always interesting to see how two people focus on the plant species that is close to their Heart, Art, and Stomach!

I kept my Tomato wishes in the same group it's always been: Bloody Butcher and Tigerella, while sniffing around the Cherry Tomatoes in all their magnificent colours.  

Last March I managed to harvest the seeds of Tomato Gardeners delight, so those are also ready to be sown, along with Black Krim and Tessaloniki and some more tomato seeds living in my shed. Now it is a matter of sorting out where they’ll go in the tunnel house. 

Watermelon Sugar Baby is something I haven't grown for far too long – it's a yummy dessert!   

Remarkably, Julie decided to interfere in my choices by flagging the tomatoes Brandy Wine Pink and Kellogs Breakfast. This feels like an attack on my tunnel house too. But then again, she reckons that beefsteak tomatoes are very useful when cooking!   

She’s right, of course!  

Her Botanical knowledge is quite amazing and going through a catalogue is like re-arranging the garden:   

Aster King Size Apricot feels like one of those new varieties that she needs to try. I reckon it's probably decades old and had (so far) escaped her attention – it's pink!  

Talking about "pink": How about a Banana ornamental Pink!  

Julie has always loved Cosmos. She just fell in love with the Cosmos double click Rose Bon bon simply because it is part of "creative writing" – something that English Teachers really appreciate. Rose Pink Blooms with multiple layers of ruffled petals -what's not to like?     

Lysimachia Beaujolais is something I cannot remember having seen before. It’s a stunning plant that looks like it would dominate the borders in your garden with dark wine-coloured flowers on spikes. I look forward to Julie’s decision of where to plant it.  

Poppy Amazing Grey is not your regular bright red poppy, but a purple-grey variety that would work well with a coloured background. This is a great flower to experiment with. As is often the case with poppies, keep the seeds for a few weeks in the fridge before sowing.  

I was invited to take a close look at a new Thalictrum, Thalictrum White – “Just want to point out this plant will be attracting bees and other Entomological critters”. I reckon I should go out at night and bathe the pure white flowers in UV Torch-light!  

Zinnia elegans is a group of wonderful cut flowers in amazing colours. Have a look at the Kings Seeds Catalogue: 20 different varieties giving your garden surprising powers of accent. Zinnia Queen Lime blush ended up as Julie’s choice of 2025/26.   

Lime coloured! 

Finally we agreed on a regular food item for Spring, Summer, and Autumn: a decent type of Lettuce, Lettuce Little Caesar. 

But this one? Honestly?  

Gotta be English! Organic Pumpkin New England Pie. 

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