The Seedling by Willow Crossley

The Seedling by Willow Crossley

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The Seedling by Willow Crossley
The Seedling by Willow Crossley
5 mins with Sarah Raven
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5 mins with Sarah Raven

And our Dahlia Collective....

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Willow Crossley
Feb 01, 2025
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The Seedling by Willow Crossley
The Seedling by Willow Crossley
5 mins with Sarah Raven
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Sarah Raven at home in her garden at Perch Hill, East Sussex. Photography © Jonathan Buckley

With my Dahlia Collection launching this month with Sarah Raven, we also thought it was the perfect opportunity to ask Sarah about her favourite dahlias, gardening, last suppers & more…

Favourite 3 dahlias?
- Dahlia ‘Molly Raven’ - subtle and beautiful colouring, good vase life and just about compact enough to be sensational in a pot so even if you don’t have a garden you can pick from this one to surround yourself with it, inside and out.
- Dahlia ‘Rip City’ - the 1st dahlia I grew 30 years ago and it’s still a leading-lady with rich chocolate-crimson flowers and incredible texture
- Dahlia ‘Labyrinth’ - soft, curvy, romantic and beautiful. I’d miss it so much if we didn’t grow it.

Top three tulips?
‘Green Wave’ - incredibly perennial, reappearing with us now for over ten years, and long-flowering with a vase life of over ten days. I love its colouring and shape.
‘White Valley’ - good and early to make me realise spring - and a new growing year - is truly on the way. I struggle when things aren’t growing here - the garden sustains me so much - and when I see the first ‘White Valley’ I know we’re through to colour and flower abundance. Yeah! It also happens to be beautiful, a double white with great stripes and washes of green ad ivory and tastes good in tempura.
‘Ballerina’ - just the most wonderful classic tulip with elegance, grace and wonderful perfume.

“Sarah has always been the person to go to for anything garden in my eyes. She has the best taste and her plants have always been the best quality.”
Willow Crossley

Which five people, dead or alive would you invite to you last supper?
My dad John Raven - he taught me pretty much everything I know even though he died when I was 17; Vita Sackville-West - my husband’s grandmother and creator of Sissinghurst. She had the BEST eye and way of loving and writing about plants and flowers and she made incredible places. The other 3 would be my immediate family - two daughters and husband Adam. We’d then be able to have a good catch up and learn from their perspectives in each generational direction. And, mainly, I’d love my dad to meet my girls.

And what would you be eating?
Start with garden Frito Misto/tempura with sage leaves, basil, aubergine, Paris Market carrots, flat-leaved parsley and just-caught mackerel - with 3 dips 1. green mayonnaise 2. home-made honey chilli dipping sauce and 3. tamari. Then fillet of beef in ginger dressing over Perch Hill salad leaves - and just dug new potatoes, peeled but still warm. Something fruity - probably with meringue and cream, but just picked fruit being the main story.

What should we be doing in the garden this weekend?
Looking. Walking around and looking closely at what’s coming out and picking mini sprigs of this and that with scent as a big requirement - so sarcococa, Daphne, plus the pink willow (not scented) Mount Aso. If you don’t have any/all, make a plan to plant them so you do have them next winter. And if you want to do more, prune your roses.

Visit sarahraven.co.uk to view my special Dahlia collection!



My Dahlia Collection at Sarah Raven

The Collective at Sarah Raven is a curated group of tastemakers who have chosen their favourite dahlias, all who have pioneered within their respective fields, often setting the standard of what’s popular ahead of anyone else. I am honoured to be included in The Collective to select my favourite dahlias, alongside Shane Connolly, Mili Proust, Savannah Miller and Cath Kidston Padgham MBE. Check out The Collective here, and my own Dahlia collection here.

“I am always led to the maddest, stripiest dahlias and love this mix together. It’s pure, unadulterated joy.” Willow Crossley

Visit sarahraven.co.uk to view my special Dahlia collection!


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5 mins with Sarah Raven
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