Mini Moderns Seeds Inspired by Dungeness

Created in collaboration with Manchester Art Gallery, pattern specialists Mini Moderns have launched a range of seeds inspired by the wild flowers of Dungeness. The innovative product launch coincides with the gallery’s upcoming presentation of the exhibition Derek Jarman Protest! – a major retrospective of the artist, who famously created his garden in Dungeness.

For decades, Dungeness has been a source of inspiration for artists, and has featured as a distinctive location for films, music videos and television dramas. In 2012, after spending a year renovating a converted railway carriage on Dungeness Beach, Mini Moderns founders Keith Stephenson and Mark Hampshire created their Dungeness design, featuring a mass of shingle, punctuated by illustrated vignettes of abandoned fishing boats, ramshackle huts, and quaint cabins, including Jarman’s house, Prospect Cottage. The packaging for the seeds features this design in distinctive emerald green.

Mark and Keith selected the range of 10 seed varieties to reflect the flowers that are found in Dungeness, either growing wild on the point, or cultivated in Derek Jarman’s garden. From Sea Campion to Marsh Mallow, the names of the seeds are instantly evocative of their seaside habitat.

Many of the species grow in the garden of the Mini Moderns beach house, or can be observed growing wild in the surrounding area. The design duo explain: “We wanted to reflect the way that Dungeness changes throughout the seasons as the wild flowers appear. In June, the air is heady with the honey scent of flowering Sea Kale, whilst the whole point turns blue in July when the Viper’s Bugloss blooms.”

Mini Moderns Seeds Inspired by Dungeness retail at £2.50 per pack and are available in 10 varieties: Yellow Horned Poppy, Sweet Pea, Fennel, Wood Sage, Marsh Mallow, Sea Campion, Viper’s Bugloss, Wild Carrot, Rock Samphire and Sea Kale.

Available from Manchester Art Gallery, artul.org and minimoderns.com