At our Perth Garden and Home Store, we are proud to stock an extensive selection of heirloom seeds from Perth and WA suppliers. We think we hold probably the largest selection of heirloom seeds in Perth! 

With many thousands of heirloom seed packs in stock, choosing your favourites can be a challenge! Here are our top picks for new and interesting seeds from each of our local WA seed suppliers. We've selected some that you can plant now, and others to put aside for planting in Spring. 

Yilgarn Seeds

Drylands Permaculture Farm, located in Geraldton, grow a range of heirloom vegetable and herb seeds under the Yilgarn Seeds brand. These wonderful WA heirloom seeds have been bred to be drought hardy – something that is becoming increasingly relevant for us in Perth. Drylands is a certified organic farm which operates as a not-for-profit enterprise, to fund their important work in conservation and sustainability. They encourage everyone to become seed savers in their local community.

Yilgarn Seeds to Sow Now in Perth

Jojoba– Sow Summer - Early Winter. Drought and heat tolerant shrub whose seed pods yield the cosmetic jojoba oil, traditionally used by Native Americans as a salve. Male and female plants are required to produce seed. Makes a great wind break and screening shrub and is a great plant for coastal areas.

Leek Bunching (Perennial) – Sow Autumn and early Winter. Needs full sun. Produces a large mother leek that can be harvested while the smaller surrounding leeks can be left to mature and harvest as needed. Clumping variety that can be divided.

Chard – Italian Bledon Spinach – Sow early Winter. Wonderfully sweet bright green leafy vegetable that can eaten as a lettuce substitute. Vigorous and fast-growing variety.

Broadbean – Peruvian Emerald – Sow Winter – Spring. Good disease resistance and prolific bearer. Immature whole pods can be eaten as steamed greens or shelled when mature. Dry beans can be soaked and cooked in a variety of Italian and South American dishes.

Yilgarn Heirloom Seeds to Save for Later

Thai Serrated Leaf (Perennial) Coriander – Sow Spring. A small thistle-like perennial plant with edible leaves and roots. Unlike it’s softer leafed cousins, the spiky leaves are best finely chopped before eating. Great option for growing through Summer as does not bolt to seed like the other coriander varieties.

Mustard Lettuce – Wasabi Kale – Sow Spring. Frilly green leaves with a wasabi-like flavour. Can be eaten raw when leaves are young or steamed / stir fried when leaves are mature.

Snake Beans – Available in either Black, Brown or Red Seeded or a Two Tone. Sow Spring-Summer. These always sell out as soon as we get them in. Also called the yard-long bean, the pods can grow up to 700mm long for some varieties. Popular variety for Asian cooking. Snake beans prefer a partly shady spot in the garden but need the hot weather to produce, so therefore is very heat tolerant as long as soil is kept moist. Harvest beans when young and tender for eating fresh either steamed or stir fried, or leave pods to mature and dry on the vine to save the seeds.

Tansy - Golden Buttons - Sow Spring. Perennial herb with very aromatic flowers and leaves. Great companion plant for potato and curcubit crops. Attractive dark green fern-like foliage and cluster of small yellow flowers that can be used as a natural dye and for medicinal use.

Thrive Sustainability

Laura Blishen and her family run their small seed business in the Chittering Valley, north of Perth. Laura is passionate about empowering and encouraging people to grow their own food for improved health outcomes for people and planet. Laura is passionate about seed saving and preserving the heirloom varieties. You can listen to her story and hear her talk about her  favourite unusual varieties to grow on her property on one of the latest episodes of the All The Dirt Podcast

HeirloomSeeds to Sow Now in Perth

Turnip – Purple Top Milan – Sow Spring – Early Winter. Purple topped variety with white base. Quick and easy to grow. Leaves can also be used in stir fries. High in Vitamin A and Calcium.

Bean – Purple King – Sow Early Spring or Autumn. Prolific, climbing variety with straight, flat, purple bean pods that turn dark green upon cooking. Prefers full sun though may need some protection in Perth Summers.

Cabbage – Tronchuda (Portuguese Cabbage) – Sow Autumn, Winter and Spring. Also known as Portuguese Kale, this leafy green doesn’t form heads like other cabbage varieties and grows leaves similar to kale. The leaves and stalks are fleshy and succulent, with more of a cabbage flavour and make a great addition to winter slaws, soups and stir fries.

Carrot – Cosmic Purple – Sow Spring – Autumn. Funky deep purple carrot with orange centre that looks great sliced. Great sweet flavour and retains colour well when cooked.

HeirloomSeeds to Save for Later

Butterfly Pea – Sow Spring/Summer. Perennial climbing vine. The deep purple flowers can be used to make tea/drinks a vivid blue, but change colour to pink by adding citrus or another acidic ingredient. Flowers also have medicinal benefits and are rich in antioxidants.

Squash – Red Kuri – Sow Spring - Also called the Hokkaido Pumpkin, this is a small-medium squash with hard orange skin. It’s sweet and nutty flavour (Kuri is the Japanese word for chestnut) can be used in all kinds of sweet and savoury recipes.

Corn – Oaxacan Green – Sow Spring – Early Summer. A Mexican heirloom variety with vigorous tall stalks and ears that produce kernels in varying shades of green. This is a grain corn as opposed to a sweet corn. Kernels can be dried and ground for cornmeal, and are ideal for making authentic green tortillas.

Tomato – Ram’s Horn. Sow late Winter (in frost free areas) – Summer. A Roma variety producing medium to large horn shaped red fruit. A high yielding and flavourful variety that is great for making sauces and preserves, but also delicious fresh.

Seed Station

Jacqueline’s smiling face is a regular at both the Perth and Kalamunda Garden Festivals. Operating out of Hilton, WA, she grows a lot of her own plants for seed production, as well as being supported by a group of passionate local seed enthusiasts. Jacqueline’s experience and insight into quality seed growers has allowed her to create a wonderful library of locally sourced seeds for buyers, and she encourages her customers to save and share their seeds for future food supply and seed security for generations to come. Check out Jacqueline’s blog on her website – Heirloom Seeds: An Introductory Guide for Seed Enthusiasts here.

Heirloom Seeds to Sow Now

Baron Solemacher – Alpine Strawberry – Sow Winter.  Yields dainty clusters of sweet deep red, juicy berries. Great for eating straight off the plant but also great in baking. Stays compact and does not produce runners, unlike other strawberry varieties, making them fantastic for pots and hanging baskets.

Cauliflower – Purple Sicily. Sow Late Summer – Winter. Unusual purple headed variety originating from southern Italy. Can be used the same way you would use a regular cauliflower – just with more attitude! Seems to resist pests better than the white cauliflower as the colour confuses them.

Calendula – Pink Surprise. Sow Spring – Autumn. Also known as ‘Pot Marigold’, this prolific bloomer produces large double pink/orange/peach coloured flowers. Popular in herbal medicine for making salves. Great for garden beds, borders and pots, it makes an excellent cut flower and is great for attracting beneficial pollinators to your garden.

Agrimonia – Sow Autumn –Early Winter, Spring. A hardy, perennial plant with both medicinal and culinary uses. It was said to have magical powers in the Middle Ages, due to it’s ability to induce a deep sleep when placed on a person’s pillow. Adaptable to most soils and is drought and frost resistant. Also known as ‘Church Steeples’ due to the long flowering spikes with a scent similar to that of ripe apricots. Yellow flowers can be used as a natural dye, while leaves can be steeped to make herbal infusions and tinctures to heal various maladies due to it’s antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.  

Heirloom Seeds to Save for Later

Passionfruit – Golden Nugget– Sow Spring. An evergreen climber with large golden skinned passionfruit, producing fruit much larger than the common purple varieties. The yellow – orange pulp has a sweet tropical flavour with mild floral notes.

Vegetable Squash (Spaghetti Squash) – Sow Spring – Summer. This Mexican heirloom vine is best grown vertically up a trellis in full sun. Each vine bears 4-5 squashes on average. Fruit is best halved or cooked whole then shredded with a fork. Flesh resembles strands of spaghetti making them a great option for those following a gluten free/paleo diet.

Tomatillo – Verde Puebla – Sow Spring – Early Summer. Originating in Mexico, the tomatillo is also known as the ‘Husk Tomato’ bush due to the papery husk encasing the round golden fruit. Fruit has a tart flavour that can be used raw or cooked. Traditionally used in salsas, sauces and jams. Two or more plants needed for cross pollination.

Basil – Lettuce Leaf. Sow Spring – Summer. A popular old Italian variety with large crinkled leaves that are sweet but not as strong as other basil varieties. Great for salads and goes particularly well with fish and chicken. The flowers like all basils, attract lots of beneficial pollinators.

We would love to know which seeds you are sowing this season - check out our socials and drop us a comment there!