Getting to know your 2012 catalogue

Ever since I received my 2012 Dobies catalogue, I’ve been dipping in and out of it, marking the items I plan to order, and marveling at all that this bumper annual edition contains. It’s a triumph of forethought and ingenuity, so carefully thought through, to offer real gardening value and as much easily accessible information as can be crammed into its 144 pages. It’s thick – 5mm (3/16^th in) – and ‘perfect-bound’ rather than stapled, which allows the pages to open easily and lie flat. Even the cover photograph is delicious, painterly and yet enticing: grow purple artichokes for the kitchen or in the decorative or cutting garden.

Open the front cover and you’ll instantly discover Dobies garden heritage – supplying gardeners with seeds since 1881. There’s a message from the Dobies team, an explanation of the cost-saving seed packets, seed counts, quality guarantee, environmental pledge, contacts, and of course a guide  to what the catalogue contains. A full index is provided on page 142 to assist your search for something specific. If  for some reason you haven’t received your catalogue copy (or are reading this blog for the first time), you can request a printed copy here.

Sections are as follows: special offers and new varieties, a-z vegetable seeds, vegetable plants, fruit bushes and trees, garden equipment, flower seeds, summer bulbs, flower plants, an impressive special offer, and the all-important order form. Alongside on page one is a guide to when season-related items will be dispatched. Most seeds and garden equipment items are available for immediate dispatch all year round.

Be-devilled by so much choice? Much help and advice is offered throughout the catalogue to ensure you can select what will best suit your needs. A clever innovation provides information on additional seed varieties (those that are more specialist, choice or older) but which still warrant inclusion, though space precludes illustrations. Full details and pictures of these varieties can still be found on the Dobies website. An excellent solution to provide the keen gardener with as much choice as possible.

Christmas is coming – what better gift for family or special a gardening friend than seeds or plants? Either select something from the catalogue you know they would like, or purchase a Dobies Gift Voucher; equally ideal for birthdays or other special occasions. Gift vouchers can be sent direct to the recipient, with your personal message, and a copy of the 2012 catalogue. Turn to the back cover for the gift voucher order form. There’s also an online Christmas Gift section on the Dobies website: click here to access it.

This post written by Ann Somerset Miles (with apologies for the image quality – all were scanned on a domestic machine from the actual catalogue; all printed text is perfectly legible, and the photos are superb).