Heirloom seed company, She Grows Veg, is sowing the seeds of success as it gears up for its RHS Chelsea Flower Show debut alongside a TV appearance on BBC Gardeners’ World programme.

Since launching in November 2023, female-founded She Grow Veg has already sold a huge 30,000 packs of its rare and open-pollinated heirloom seeds to growers all over the UK and is about to reach even more potential growers as it gets set to to talk about its upcoming display at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

The brainchild of former jewellery designer to the stars, Lucy Hutchings, and marketeer, Kate Cotterill, She Grows Veg has quickly gained acclaim for its 150+ strong range of seeds that allow people to grow everything from Tromboncino giant butternut squash and Gniff purple carrots, to black tomatoes and chicory Rose of Venice,

“The speed in which the business has grown has been phenomenal,” comments Kate. “We knew there was a real gap in the market for heirloom seeds that produce veg that not only tastes amazing but also looks beautiful too, but the response has been better than we ever could have expected. We’ve sent seeds to over 5,000 growers in the UK and amazingly, half of our customers are under 35 years old so we’re managing to reach a younger generation of growers which was all part of our mission.”

She Grows Veg is set to exhibit at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show this May in the Great Pavillion with its ‘Edimental’ concept; a beautiful, opulent and never-before-seen aspirational display that will show how a garden of wonderful food can create a stunning vista of colour both outdoors and in your kitchen. Special guest chef, Raymond Blanc, is also joining the team for the first day of the show to cook some of their wonderful produce..

“When we started the business we wanted to promote the link between growing and cooking and open people’s eyes to some amazing and often forgotten veg. We never expected that within six months we’d be appearing on TV and inspiring a whole new generation of growers,” continues Kate. “It’s all happened so fast, but it’s great to be a part of such a vibrant growing community and we can’t wait to meet some of our growers at RHS Chelsea Flower Show.”

Kate and Lucy source their seeds from seed suppliers in the UK and internationally, and grow the very rarest and hard to find ones themselves in their trial garden. Each seed pack is supported with its own ‘Sow, Grow and Taste’ Youtube video, giving new growers the confidence to give it a try. 

The business launched with 156 varieties and has added a further 30 to the range since last year. “We are completely different to other seed growers as we don’t just trial our seeds at our HQ, we also have normal growers testing them out across the country in different climates and growing conditions. This allows us to offer the best possible growing advice to our buyers,” continues Kate. “Mine and Lucy’s shared passion for growing veg has led us to create the She Grows Veg brand and we can’t wait to speak to other keen gardeners and plant-lovers at The RHS Chelsea Flower Show and hopefully inspire even more people to grow their own.”

Visitors will be able to find the She Grows Veg display in the Great Pavilion at Chelsea Flower Show (21st to 25th May 2024) and purchase packs of heirloom seeds to take home. To see the whole range of heirloom seed packs available and for more information on She Grows Veg, visit https://shegrowsveg.com/