Home | Referral Networks

Chiltern Seeds
Way back in 1975, Douglas Bowden, keen gardener of things unusual, dreamed of turning his hobby into a business and with his wife, Bridget, set up Chiltern Seeds from their sitting room in Buckinghamshire, with the main aim of selling unusual items not available elsewhere in the UK.

1976 saw the publication of the first catalogue featuring an illustration of Ipomoea tuberosa on the cover (item 716).
In 1980, due to growth in both family and business, Chiltern Seeds moved up to Cumbria but as stated in the 1981 catalogue, "in defiance of geography, the name remains the same!"

Chiltern Seeds spent 32 happy years up in Cumbria with many staff members remaining with them for all that time.

Sadly, Douglas died in 2010, but Bridget carried on with the business with the help of the loyal staff. After a couple of years she decided that the time was right for her to retire. It seemed only natural that Douglas and Bridget's two daughters Heather and Sally would take over having grown up with seeds all around them. Due to family commitments they made the difficult decision to relocate Chiltern Seeds back down south to the Chilterns where they took over a converted barn near Wallingford, Oxfordshire, where they can now be found
Crowmarsh Battle Barns,.
114 Preston Crowmarsh,
Wallingford, OX10 6SL, England.
+44 (0)1491 824675




Visit: Chiltern Seeds