11 Seed Starter Kits & Wildflower Bee Balls | Horticulture.co.uk (2024)

By MOLLIE BROWN

There are a variety of options available for those looking to grow plants from seeds in their garden.

Generally I’d recommend using seed kits if:

1. You know the conditions in your garden, but not the plants that would grow best there (eg. a shady, north-facing garden).
2. You are planning on growing a huge variety of plants over the coming year – in which case it makes sense to have a plethora of seeds to hand.
3. You’d like to introduce a host of plants that will benefit local pollinators, in which case, seed balls (AKA ‘beebombs’) are probably your best option.

To determine some of the best options available to gardeners in the UK, we asked retailers (both independent and national) to send their top product offerings to our offices in Leeds.

The end result was this guide, which features 11 products for an assortment of garden types, gardener skill levels and growing aims.

Each of the products in this guide has been hand-tested by me for quality assurance – but I must admit that I did not have the time to grow each one in my garden and check the viability of the seeds themselves.

We would welcome feedback from our readers on this front.

Disclaimer: while each retailer featured sent us their product to review hands-on at zero cost, we were not compensated to include their product in this list. Each is included based on merit alone. That being said, depending on the retailer, we may earn a small commission if you click on links we provide - at no additional cost to you.

Short on time? Here’s our favourites:

Join us as we share our favourite seed kits for introducing new plants and wildflowers into your garden.

1) Grand Seed Kit

• BRAND: Garden Pack
• RETAIL PRICE: £14.99
• OUR RATING: 5/5
• AVAILABLE FROM: Garden Pack Store

This seed kit from Garden Pack brings together a collection of 30 herb and vegetable seeds to fill a growing patch for the whole year.

With over 15,000 seeds in the whole pack, you’re unlikely to run short any time soon.

Some of the vegetable seeds included are varieties of broccoli, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, spinach and peppers, whilst some of the herbs featured include basil, dill and parsley.

For me, the variety of the seeds meant that there was more than enough to be getting on with during the sowing period and if anything, I had to give some away as there was not room to grow them all, which is surely a good sign.

Also included in this box to get you started are 6 bamboo plant markers, 6 biodegradable pots and a pair of gardening gloves.

There is also a detailed growing manual that lists the instructions for sowing each type of seed included in the pack.

I must say you get an awful lot for your money for such a small price, making this a high-value product that I’d strongly recommend.

2) Pocket Handpicked Seeds

• BRAND: Bea Garden UK
• RETAIL PRICE: £2.00
• OUR RATING: 4/5
• AVAILABLE FROM: Etsy

Buying from a small business like Bea Garden is special because each packet of seeds is handpicked from the flowers in their own gardens.

You can choose which types of flowers you’d like to purchase; each packet of seeds is filled with enough to fill a border for just £2.00.

Of course, not all of these will germinate, but it’s a great gift to give to a gardener who would like to try and grow their favourite flowers from seed.

I received seeds for nigella, marigold and dahlia plants and also an envelope with a mix of cottage garden plants.

Each small envelope has a lovely print of the flowers inside on the front with specific instructions for sowing the seeds for that plant over the top.

The instructions are printed quite small, so bear that in mind, but other than that it is the perfect tiny gift.

Bea Garden also offer seed packets as wedding favours (as well as other occasions) so it could also be a great gift to buy in bulk if required.

3) Assorted Seedboms

• BRAND: Kabloom
• RETAIL PRICE: £4.50
• OUR RATING: 4/5
• AVAILABLE FROM: Kabloom Store

These seed balls from Kabloom are a little different to the usual types, as they arrive in unique packaging that can be distributed with the seeds themselves.

Each ‘bom’ is filled with a range of annual and perennial seeds so you get growth the same year as well as in the years to come.

The process couldn’t be any easier: simply pull out the top, fill it with water and throw it onto the ground.

As long as the ‘bom’ is split open slightly, you should see seedlings emerging as soon as March if thrown outside before Christmas.

The packaging is shaped like a grenade to go alongside nicely with the premise of the product, which I thought was a nice touch.

However, don’t be deceived, these are anything but dangerous – and should produce dozens of beautiful plant seedlings that can be grown on as desired.

Another thing that I love is that all of the plants are British natives and chosen from the RHS Plants For Pollinators list, so you know that the gift you are giving is great for wildlife and for the plant itself.

Unusual and novel – this is my favourite seedball product.

4) Grow Your Own Veggies Kit

• BRAND: Garden Pack
• RETAIL PRICE: £7.95
• OUR RATING: 5/5
• AVAILABLE FROM: Garden Pack Store

A great choice for those who love to grow their own produce, this seed pack is filled with vegetable seeds that can be grown throughout the calendar year.

It also comes with a useful set of sowing and growing instructions for each of the different plants inside.

There are 20 different vegetable varieties available in this pack, which I thought was a great deal, especially when compared to other seed products of the same size and price.

In fact, I’d say that this small kit is definitely great value for money, as you get around 8,000 seeds for just under £8.00!

Some of the vegetables included in the kit include carrots, red onions, spinach and broccoli, with other common kitchen staples.

If you’re after a gift that features more adventurous veggies to try, this is not the one, but I’d say that this pack is a perfect starter kit for those interested in growing their own.

5) Assortment Of Plant Seed Kits

• BRAND: Sow Seedy
• RETAIL PRICE: £11.99
• OUR RATING: 4/5
• AVAILABLE FROM: Sow Seedy Store

Another seed box option with a twist; these products contain seeds that most will never have even considered having in their garden, let alone growing from seed!

The box itself is colourful and inviting and each one comes with a bag of seeds, suitable potting soil, a small plastic pot, a plant label and a small set of growing instructions.

I found that the instructions were easy to follow and made the whole sowing process really simple.

The seeds in this set, as mentioned, are perhaps a little more exotic to the plants your gardening friends might already be growing.

You can choose to gift them black bamboo, lotus flowers, Thai star fruit or rainbow eucalyptus.

Butterfly bush is also an option but I would keep in mind that this can become quite invasive – I have it in my front garden, the seeds spread like wildfire and it grows incredibly quickly.

I’d personally opt for the lotus flower – how often do you get the opportunity to grow your own aquatic flower from seed?

6) Wildlife Collection Seed Box

• BRAND: Seedball UK
• RETAIL PRICE: £15.00
• OUR RATING: 5/5
• AVAILABLE FROM: Seedball UK Store

Each box is beautifully illustrated and contains 6 seed balls that can be scattered over any patch of soil in the spring or autumn, producing flowers the same or the following year.

The individual boxes each come with a delightful wildlife-based design that corresponds to the wildlife types the seeds help benefit – I found they are handy to reuse to store seeds once the balls have been used up.

Included are boxes for bats, birds and beetles, as well as the more obvious garden pollinators – bees and butterflies.

However, my favourite of these was the hedgehog box – the illustration was particularly impressive and the seeds included some of my favourite plants, such as wild carrot and poppy.

Interestingly, these seeds are great for attracting bugs that hedgehogs feed on and the other seeds in the mix, such as tufted vetch and yellow rattle, provide good shelter for hedgehogs once established.

I absolutely love the concept of these boxes and any wildlife-friendly gardener will too, so I definitely would recommend this collection of seed boxes.

7) Mini Sunflower Kit

• BRAND: Butterscotch Studio
• RETAIL PRICE: £6.00
• OUR RATING: 3/5
• AVAILABLE FROM: Butterscotch Studio Store

Delightfully packaged with clear instructions, this Sunflower Kit from Butterscotch Studio makes a brilliant item for those with lots of gardening experience or none at all!

The kit is all kept inside a tiny hessian bag with a ‘pocket full of sunshine’ decoration on the front of it, which sums up exactly what this gift contains.

After opening, I just wanted to get started. The kit comes with planting instructions, three sunflower seeds, a tiny soil block, a fabric sack and a little personalised plant label, which I thought was a lovely touch.

The instructions are easy to follow and provide direction for what to do after your seedlings have appeared, which is useful and not something that is always included in these small ‘grow your own’ kits.

Even the fabric sack had a pretty black and gold sunflower button placed on the front.

8) ‘Grow Me’ Gift Boxes

• BRAND: Nest
• RETAIL PRICE: £3.95
• OUR RATING: 4/5
• AVAILABLE FROM: Nest Store (forget-me-not / chamomile)

These ‘Grow Me’ seed kits give gardeners the opportunity to sow specific plants from seed, such as a forget-me-not, often associated with remembrance – and chamomile, a useful herb.

I tested out the forget-me-not and chamomile boxes and was impressed by the packaging – I would definitely consider gifting the Forget-Me-Not set to a close friend or family member who might recently have suffered a loss, as I think it’s a thoughtful gift.

Each kit comes with a small pot, a compost disc, a wooden plant marker and, of course, a packet of seeds.

I thought the process for sowing couldn’t be easier, as all that is required is the addition of water to the compost and then the sowing of the seeds themselves.

Other seed kits available include chillies, coffee and sunflowers.

9) Wildflower Bee Balls

• BRAND: Belinda’s Handmade Crafts
• RETAIL PRICE: £6.25
• OUR RATING: 4/5
• AVAILABLE FROM: Etsy (tin / hessian bag)

These bee balls arrived with a little note reminding me to simply ‘add water, sunshine and a little time’, leaving me in no doubt that this is the perfect kit for those who want to do their bit for the bees, without any of the hassle.

What’s more, this product is handcrafted in Yorkshire – and there are subtle ways you can customise the product for a friend or family member.

You can choose whether the small seed balls come in either a gold tin with a bee printed on the top or a hessian, draw-string bag that has tiny bees stuck onto its surface.

After trying out both options, I would personally opt for the tin, as it is slender and durable, making it ideal for storing in even the smallest of locations.

The seedballs themselves are small, round and compact, which means that when you open the tin or bag, you won’t get covered in bits of loose soil – a definite plus!

As with all seed products, there is no guarantee that the throw-and-grow balls you plant will indeed flower.

However, with a minimum of 15 with each purchase, I’m sure that the most patient gardeners will manage to see some flowers in the summer months if planted out correctly.

10) Micrology Kits

• BRAND: Teeny Greeny
• RETAIL PRICE: £13.95
• OUR RATING: 3/5
• AVAILABLE FROM: Teeny Greeny Store

These microgreen growing kits from Teeny Greeny come in handy little round tins.

There are several options of seeds to choose from, including rocket, radish, cabbage, kale and broccoli, each costing just under £14.

Personally, for the price I would prefer the tins to be a little larger, as the small size means that the harvest of microgreens will be small too.

However, I do appreciate that not everyone has room to grow in larger pots in their home, so it might be best suited to those with a limited amount of space available to them indoors.

Also, the kit contains lots of seeds, so you definitely have enough for multiple harvests!

11) Grow Your Own Giant Sunflower Box

• BRAND: The Lovely Stuff Company
• RETAIL PRICE: £5.99
• OUR RATING: 4/5
• AVAILABLE FROM: The Lovely Stuff Company Store

This grow-your-own sunflower box from The Lovely Stuff Company is a simple gift that will delight even the most novice of gardeners.

The small box comes with a soil plug, a biodegradable water tray, a wooden plant label and a handful of seeds – just in case one fails to germinate.

The instructions are detailed and easy to follow, so there’s not much room for error.

Upon opening, I found this product really easy to use and felt like I could get to work straight away.

Whether or not it grows to the massive 3m mark that is claimed is another matter!

Sunflowers are famously temperamental and can be difficult to grow to even modest heights without a lot of fuss and attention.

However, if you fail to hit those heights, you can always try again next year by harvesting any seeds you get from this plant.