I welcome additions from those of you who read the blog as I'd love to get a really comprehensive list together, especially for those of you who live outside the UK. I will be hoping to get some good US suppliers up shortly, once I've managed to speak to the divine Eve Biegun (a.k.a. Evie Landa), my friend in the US of A and co-editor, as she will be helping me translate the pages into American.
Anyway, all good suggestions welcome in the areas of food and gardening, plus any others you want to throw in, might as well do things properly.
Food & Drink
- Rick Stein's Shop (UK online) - I shop here purely for the Rick Stein Savoury Oatcakes, which are the most divine oatcakes known to humankind. Think it must be the Cornish butter. Anyway, I buy the things in bulk, although fortunately our local Waitrose now sells them so I'm saving on postage. They also sell the beloved Rick's cookbooks but I buy them from Amazon as they're much cheaper.
Gardening supplies
- Dandy's Top Soil (UK online) - well-priced top soil, manure, compost etc in bulk. Always had lovely delivery men as well who'll heave the stuff to the end of the drive so I don't have to do it.
- Harrod Horticultural (UK online) - all my wooden raised beds are from here, I believe they're called Wooden Allotment Raised Beds not the Superior version but feel free if that floats your boat. I prefer wooden beds but they also sell plastic ones. They are very reasonably priced and easy to put together. You feel a bit of a prat when a load of wooden planks turn up, as if you could have done it yourself (cheaper) by buying a load of planks but these kits come with the holes ready-drilled and all the right screws etc so, personally, I'd prefer to do things that way.
- Selections (UK online) - a very odd place but fantastically cheap. I admit I was little concerned I was giving my money to a spotty teenager in Kansas who hasn't seen daylight since the age of ten but everything I ordered turned up, even if some of it was three months later when I'd forgotten all about it. If you are of an anxious disposition then probably not the place for you but I have to say they really are cheap. All my Growbag Growhouses come from here and my Four-tier Greenhouses as they are cheaper that everywhere else but if you're in a rush I'd go to B&Q.
Pet & Animal supplies
- Garden Bird Supplies (UK online) - where I buy all my wild bird food. I like the Ultiva Gold food mix and the Insect Treat Blocks for the seed feeders and fat feeder respectively. Plus I get 10% off because I subscribe to Gardener's World magazine.
- Pet Planet (UK online) - supplier of all my cat and tropical fish supplies as they are cheaper than anywhere else and the delivery is free because I order so much. The girls eat Hills Science Plan Light in a vain attempt to stop Pickle's size escalating into that of a small pony and because it seemed like the best food when I first got them.
Plants, Shrubs & Trees
- Crocus (UK online) - fanastic bedding plants, plants, shrubs, trees, fruit and veg plug plants plus other things I believe but I've never strayed that far. They are a bit expensive but I've only once had a bad plant (which they replaced immediately) and the delivery is good.
- Sunshine Garden Centre, North London (UK store) - near my flat in Ally Pally, North London. Run by, shall we say enthusastic, Australians so very efficient and has a nice coffee shop. Always a great selection of plants and their herbs are great, I got my lemon verbena plant from there.
- Thompson & Morgan (UK online) - great, reasonably-priced plug plants. I buy nicotiana, stocks and bergonias here every year.
Seeds
- Heirloom Tomatoes (UK online) - a wonderful selection of unusual tomatoes, plus a few other veg seeds. Bit more expensive than my other two so I use them primarily for these ususual tomatoes seeds, rather than the common ones.
- Nicky's Nursery (UK online) - great veg & herb seeds. The majority of my seeds come from here, I love their chilli selection, with the rest coming from....
- Plants of Distinction (UK online) - .....again I use them primarily for veg & herb seeds but they do flower seeds too, I got a lovely packet of cosmos seeds from there last year.
- JBA Seed Potatoes (UK online) - where I get my seed potatoes. Great selection of varieties and helpful advice too.
- Simply Seed (UK online) - back-up for seed potatoes when JBA Seed run out or what I want, which is frequently as I'm extremely tardy with my seed potato ordering.
Skincare & Make-up
- Liz Earle (UK, Eire & US online & some stores I think, John Lewis for one) - I've used her Cleanse & Polish for about 10 years, on and off, and have returned once more to it this year. Bit like Eve Lom's well-known cleanser but less like giving your face a wax and polish. Scrubby-type cleanser that you take off with a muslin cloth and water. Not cheap but lasts quite a while and does wonders for your skin. I've tried some of her other stuff, such as the moisturiser, which is great but have only ever stuck with the cleanser.
- Space NK (UK & US online, plus UK stores) - lovely stuff here, very rarely able to curtail my purchases in store so I tend to shop online. I shop here almost exclusively for Laura Mercier's Tinted Moisturiser in Porcelain. It is the only tinted moisturiser that should be considered, it transforms my rather blotchy, red and pale skin into something luminous and ethereal (if I do say so myself). I can't recommend it enough. My other regular purchase from Space NK are the Diptyque candles which are horredously expensive but for a reason, they produce the most delicious fragrances that linger beautifully in a room. If you buy one, pop it in the freezer overnight before burning and it'll last twice as long.
