A grow your own seeds business born out of lockdown has launched a new product: bee-shaped seed bombs that are a fun way to sow bee-friendly flowers.
Sow Your Own was founded in 2020 by Toby Burge and Luis Williamson – two business graduates and old schoolfriends who embraced gardening during lockdown. They were just 19 when they launched the business, which aims to make growing flowers, fruit and vegetables accessible and fun.
Sow your own co-founder Toby Burge:
“We’re not your average gardeners – we both started gardening during lockdown when the weather was great, and we were looking for new hobbies. For both of us, that hobby quickly became a passion. We found it really enhanced our wellbeing; even 20 minutes a day tending your plants can help you mentally.”
The pair quickly realised that they wanted to share their passion for gardening – and as they were both studying for business degrees, they had the knowledge to start their own business. Now the 21-year-old graduates are working to #getBritaingrowing.
The business is based in Stroud and sells its seed kits all over the UK. Sow Your Own products are available from Blue Diamond garden centres, Etsy, Amazon and from the Sow Your Own website.
Besides making bee-friendly seed bombs, Toby and Luis make vegetable, chilli, fruit and herb seed kits, and sell a range of growing accessories to help you expand your garden or window box allotment. As well as selling bags of bee seed bombs, they also recently launched matchbox-size boxes of three bee seed bombs, which make perfect wedding favours, corporate gifts or stocking fillers. All their seed bombs are hand mixed and moulded at their Stroud headquarters.
Luis and Toby are keen to support the environment with their bee-friendly seed kits, and to encourage people to embrace the environmental and mental wellbeing benefits of growing food and wildflowers.
Sow Your Own co-founder Luis Williamson:
“Sow Your Own is all about getting pleasure from gardening while also doing your bit to help the environment, boosting the wildflower, bug and bee population and cutting down on food miles by eating your own, home-grown fruit and veg. We’ve added an element of fun by creating our bee-shaped seed bombs and we’re delighted they are now available in Blue Diamond garden centres as well as online.”
