Seeds to start indoors

Originaire des steppes froides d’Asie centrale, le caraganier de Sibérie (Caragana arborescens) est un arbuste de la famille des Fabacées qui a voyagé bien au-delà de sa région natale. Dans les paysages ouverts et venteux, il a longtemps été planté comme brise-vent et haie vive, profitant de sa grande rusticité et de sa capacité à se contenter de sols pauvres.

Son feuillage composé, léger et finement découpé, offre une ombre douce et mobile qui accompagne le jardin au fil du cycle des saisons. Au printemps, ses petites fleurs jaune pâle apportent une note lumineuse dans le jardin vivant, avant de laisser place à des gousses étroites contenant de petites graines. Dans un potager complice ou en bordure de terrain, sa présence bienveillante participe à la création d’un espace nourricier résilient, notamment grâce à son appartenance aux plantes de la famille des légumineuses.

In the heart of the organic vegetable garden, the Klari Baby Cheese pepper settles in like a small, benevolent presence among the summer vegetables. Like all sweet peppers, it comes from the species Capsicum annuum , widely cultivated and diversified throughout the world, notably from centers of diversity in Central and South America, before being adopted by many home gardens.

In a garden in harmony with the cycle of the seasons, it is cultivated like a classic pepper: sown indoors in the heart of winter or very early spring, then patiently acclimatized before being planted in the welcoming soil of the vegetable garden when the nights are finally mild. Its discreet white flowers announce the onset of fruit, a stage eagerly awaited by the gardener who tends to the plant throughout the summer, from regular watering to bountiful harvests.

This variety naturally finds its place in a diverse, nourishing environment: it contributes to garden life through its ground cover and the micro-habitats it provides for small soil fauna. Grown slowly, respecting the warmth it needs, this pepper becomes a reliable companion during short summers, in a deeply rooted approach to sustainable cultivation.

Originating from European peasant lines, this remarkable variety is rooted in a tradition of subsistence farming where taste, hardiness, and beauty are one. With its tightly packed 25 cm head, it combines dark red, almost black foliage in the sun with a vibrant green heart, offering a striking visual contrast.

In the ever-changing garden, it offers a reassuring, constant, and generous presence. Resistant to bolting and tolerant of heat, it adapts well to the rhythm of the seasons and summer harvests. Easy to integrate into a nutrient-rich area or a quiet corner of the vegetable garden, it embodies attentive and deeply rooted cultivation. Its dense and colorful foliage contributes to the diversity of textures and hues within mixed plantings.

Mescher head lettuce is a traditional French variety, prized in vegetable gardens for its mild flavor and relative resistance to adverse weather conditions. Originating from the Mescher region, near the Atlantic coast, it is distinguished by its well-formed, dense, and firm head, offering a crisp texture and a delicately sweet taste.

In the garden, Mescher is a faithful companion to summer and autumn crops. Its ability to form a compact head makes it easy to harvest and store, while its mild flavor makes it a preferred ingredient for fresh and composed salads. With its upright habit and abundant foliage, it adds a beautiful touch of greenery to the vegetable garden and contributes to soil fertility through its rapid growth cycle.

Native to South America, Balbis nightshade (Solanum sisymbriifolium) is a tender perennial in the nightshade family (Solanaceae), cultivated as an annual in our climates. It displays a striking silhouette, reaching up to 1.4 meters in height, covered in stems, leaves, and calyxes bristling with golden spines. In summer, it offers a remarkable display of large, star-shaped flowers, white to lilac, reminiscent of eggplant.

An unusual companion plant, it is sometimes used as a trap crop in a soil-friendly approach. It attracts potato cyst nematodes and inhibits their development, thus helping to regenerate the soil through a natural strategy. Robust, it grows without pruning in well-drained soil and full sun, with self-sustaining growth and a structuring effect in the vegetable garden.

Its late flowering and fruiting invite rewarded patience, and its singular presence makes it a prickly guardian of the vegetable garden.

Native to the temperate regions of Eurasia, common oregano ( Origanum vulgare ) is one of those companion plants that naturally find their place in living gardens. At Jardins de l'écoumène, it is presented as a hardy perennial, ideal for borders and dry corners of the vegetable garden or herb garden, where its aromatic green foliage forms dense and inviting clumps.

In the garden, oregano establishes itself with remarkable consistency: once rooted in well-drained soil and a sunny location, it faithfully returns year after year. Its summer blooms, with small pink to purplish flowers, attract numerous pollinators and contribute to the garden's vibrancy in harmony with the cycle of the seasons. It is a reliable plant, both decorative and edible, whose fragrant presence complements the age-old practices of harvesting and drying herbs.

Long present in the vegetable gardens of temperate Europe, garden sorrel ( Rumex acetosa ) has established itself as a companion herb for the first days of spring. Its clumps of tender green leaves, borne on lanceolate foliage, emerge as soon as the soil warms up a little, offering one of the first fresh greens in the living garden.

In a quiet corner of the vegetable garden or at the edge of a edible flower bed, it forms a dense and regular rosette that faithfully returns year after year. Its tangy flavor adds a lively note to simple everyday dishes and recalls an age-old practice: picking, as the seasons change, just the right amount of leaves for soup, sauce, or omelet.

A discreet yet constant companion, garden sorrel integrates easily into an environmentally friendly gardening approach. Its benevolent presence accompanies the cycle of the seasons: in spring, it outshines many vegetables, and in autumn, it continues to produce as long as the soil remains hospitable.

Native to North America, Heliopsis Burning Hearts displays its fiery brilliance on hot summer days, illuminating gardens with its vibrant red and orange flowers. This particular heliopsis variety, related to sunflowers, is prized for its hardiness and ability to bloom profusely despite varying conditions, making it a faithful and cheerful companion in the summer garden.

At the heart of the garden, it plays a starring role, attracting a myriad of pollinators and offering a spectacle of warm colors that marks the seasons. Its upright silhouette and bushy habit give it a beautiful presence, while its late flowering prolongs the life and beauty of the garden until autumn.

Originating from French artisanal selections, the Jaune Flammée tomato was introduced by Norbert Perreira. This heirloom variety is eye-catching with its round, golf ball-sized fruits, hanging in elongated clusters at the ends of vigorous vines. Their bright orange-yellow color contrasts beautifully with the dark green foliage, providing a luminous presence in vegetable gardens.

With its indeterminate growth habit, it forms a robust plant that requires good support – sturdy stakes or a wide cage – to support its abundant production. It is disease-resistant and distinguished by its early maturity, making it a natural fit for organic and sustainable cultivation practices.

Originating in Brazil , the Moranga pumpkin is an heirloom variety renowned for its sweet, mealy, and flavorful flesh , prized in many traditional recipes. Its round, ribbed fruits , a vibrant orange , bring color and abundance to the autumn vegetable garden, while embodying the generosity typical of tropical squashes adapted to temperate climates.

In the garden, Moranga develops a vigorous, creeping habit , quickly covering the ground with dense foliage that naturally suppresses weeds and retains moisture. Its sustained growth , natural resistance , and generous fruit size make it a first-rate food plant in a vegetable or permaculture garden .

Adapted to long rotations and open-space cultivation, it contributes to species diversity , attracts pollinators in summer, and offers a luminous and structuring presence until the end of the season.

The Very Fine Market Garden Chicory is a variety prized for its fine foliage and delicate texture. Its narrow, elongated, and finely divided leaves form a supple and light rosette, ideal for regular harvests. It is distinguished by a moderate bitterness, milder than that of wild chicories, making it very versatile in cooking.

In the garden, this chicory is prized for its consistent growth and adaptability to traditional vegetable cultivation. It grows quickly in cool, well-worked soil, producing tender leaves when harvested young. Its continuous growth allows for successive harvests, extending the growing season.

The Très Fine Maraîchère variety particularly appreciates cool to temperate seasonal conditions. It tolerates lower temperatures well and maintains good foliage quality when soil moisture is kept consistent. During periods of intense heat, it may develop a more pronounced bitterness, indicating that it's time to adjust watering or prioritize early harvesting.

Developed through artisanal selection in Washington State (USA) by seed producer and breeder John Navazio, and even named in homage to the town of Bellingham ("Bellesque") where it originated, this chicory was designed to thrive in cool, humid climates . It forms a compact, curly rosette , light green with white veins, and a heart that naturally whitens. Its mild flavor, balanced with a touch of bitterness, makes it a choice salad green for autumn harvests.

Like other curly endives, it thrives in a sunny to partially shaded location and prefers loose, rich, well-drained soil. Hardy down to -1°C , it is sown in late summer for a harvest before the onset of severe frost. With low disease resistance, it is ideal for cooler-season vegetable gardens .

Achillea 'Noblessa' is distinguished by its dense, luminous white blooms borne on straight, well-structured stems. Its finely overlapping double flowers form elegant umbels that evoke a refined and contemporary version of traditional yarrow.

In the garden, Noblessa develops a vigorous and balanced habit, supported by finely cut, greyish-green foliage, characteristic of the Achillea genus. It integrates equally well into perennial borders, naturalistic gardens, and cut gardens, where its abundant and regular flowering is particularly sought after.

Resilient and undemanding, this yarrow tolerates heat, poor soils and drier periods well once established.

In the ecumene, Noblessa is perceived as a plant of stability and constancy, offering reliable flowering that structures the garden as much as it nourishes floral arrangements.

The Toraji Bellflower ( Platycodon grandiflorus ), also known as the "balloon flower," is a delicate and striking companion for quiet corners of the garden. Native to the cool grasslands and forests of East Asia, it is distinguished by its upright stems, dark green oval leaves, and especially its large, star-shaped, violet-blue flowers, which open from round, swollen buds—like bubbles ready to burst.

Remarkably hardy, it offers a delicate and refined bloom each summer, attracting butterflies, bees, and curious onlookers. A reliable perennial, faithful year after year, it thrives in partial shade or the sunny edges of a well-drained border. Compact and unobtrusive, it integrates beautifully into a vibrant garden where beauty blends with the wisdom of the natural cycle.

Originating from regions with sunny summers, the Turkish poppy readily finds its place in cheerful gardens where original shapes are appreciated. Its large, round capsules, topped with a small decorative "hat," prolong the plant's presence long after flowering and become veritable living sculptures at the heart of the vibrant garden.

In welcoming soil, it raises its flowering stem above the finely cut foliage, producing large, ephemeral flowers before transforming into striking dry fruits. It naturally finds its place in a space that is both nourishing and ornamental, where the plant's complete cycle—flowering, seed production, and dispersal—is allowed to unfold. It is a perfect companion for those who wish to observe life through the seasons and allow the garden to harmonize with the wind, insects, and time.

Developed through selective breeding by Wild Boar Farm in California, Black and Brown Boar embodies a modern and distinctive lineage, with fruit striped in deep brown, mahogany red, and bronze green. This indeterminate variety produces vigorous plants that grow gracefully and benefit from good staking to support their generous yield.

In a harmonious garden, it blends naturally alongside other colorful varieties, creating a vibrant and edible tableau. Its hardiness and stable growth habit make it a reliable companion for those wishing to explore the visual and gustatory diversity of the tomato world.

Originating in the Balkans, the Yugoslavian Red head lettuce is distinguished by its spectacular purplish-red foliage, which catches the eye and visually enriches vegetable gardens. Traditionally grown in family gardens in the Yugoslav region, it has won over modern gardeners thanks to its hardiness and mild flavor.

In the garden, this variety forms a beautiful, dense head with crisp leaves, ideal for adding a colorful and nutritious touch to salads. Its hardiness makes it a preferred choice for organic gardeners looking for vegetables that are both decorative and flavorful.

Native to Europe , Batavian escarole is a traditional chicory that combines resilience, freshness, and hardiness . Its well-formed head with a whitish heart is surrounded by broad, crisp, and slightly wavy leaves , sometimes reaching up to 40 cm in length. Its texture and less bitter taste compared to curly endives make it particularly versatile and a welcome addition to both the garden and the table .

It thrives in temperate climates and is sown in late summer or spring, depending on the region, to provide late harvests. Its upright and structural form integrates harmoniously into ecological gardens , promoting crop rotation , extending autumn harvests , and attracting pollinators during its flowering period.

Robust and generous, it quickly becomes a reliable ally in the kitchen garden , especially for gardeners keen to diversify greenery throughout the seasons.

Amaranth Opopeo is a sumptuous ornamental and vegetable plant, particularly prized for its magnificent, bright red flower heads that bring a warm and vibrant touch to any garden. Its decorative foliage and vigorous growth make it an ideal variety for planting in beds or borders. Besides its striking appearance, amaranth is a nutritious plant, often cultivated for its protein-rich seeds, as well as being used as a leafy vegetable in several traditional cultures.