🌱Plant Database

Solanum lycopersicum

The jewel of the summer garden, tomatoes reward careful cultivation with an abundance of sweet, sun-ripened fr…

Daucus carota subsp. sativus

Fresh-dug carrots from your own ground bear no resemblance to their cellophane-wrapped cousins. Sweet, earthy,…

Cucurbita pepo

Courgettes are the most generous plants in the garden — sometimes embarrassingly so. One or two plants will su…

Phaseolus coccineus

With their scarlet flowers and vigorous climbing habit, runner beans are as ornamental as they are productive.…

Allium sativum

Garlic is the backbone of the kitchen garden and one of the easiest crops to grow. Plant in autumn, largely ig…

Lactuca sativa

Lettuce can be harvested within weeks of sowing and provides leaves from early spring through autumn. Grow a c…

Solanum tuberosum

No kitchen garden is complete without potatoes. From waxy salad types to floury bakers, the variety available …

Ocimum basilicum

Sweet basil is the quintessential summer herb — aromatic, tender, and inseparable from tomatoes in the garden …

Pisum sativum

There is no finer experience in the kitchen garden than eating fresh peas straight from the pod, still sweet w…

Brassica oleracea var. sabellica

Hardy, nutritious, and almost indestructible, kale is the backbone of the winter vegetable garden. It shrugs o…

Allium cepa

The backbone of the kitchen garden. Onions come in a wonderful range of shapes, sizes, and colours — round or …

Allium cepa

Mild, fresh, and quick to grow, spring onions are one of the most rewarding vegetables for impatient gardeners…

Allium porrum

Leeks are the patient gardener's reward — slow to grow, but steadfastly hardy, they stand in the ground throug…

Allium cepa (Aggregatum group)

Sweeter and more nuanced in flavour than the common onion, shallots grow in handsome clusters and store beauti…

Brassica oleracea var. botrytis

The most demanding of the brassica family, cauliflowers reward careful preparation and attention with their ma…

Brassica oleracea var. capitata

Cabbages are the most versatile brassica, with varieties for every season of the year. From the delicate sprin…

Brassica oleracea var. gemmifera

Much maligned but deeply misunderstood, Brussels sprouts are one of the garden's great autumn and winter veget…

Spinacia oleracea

Fast-growing and packed with iron and nutrients, spinach is one of the most rewarding crops to grow. Choose a …

Beta vulgaris

Deep, jewel-red, and earthy-sweet, beetroot is one of the most satisfying roots to pull from the ground. Eaten…

Pastinaca sativa

The true taste of winter. Roasted parsnips caramelise and sweeten in the oven in a way that makes them almost …

Raphanus sativus

The fastest-growing vegetable in the garden — a radish sown today can be on the salad plate in under a month. …

Vicia faba

The hardiest of all beans and one of the oldest cultivated plants in Britain, broad beans are among the first …

Phaseolus vulgaris

Smaller, rounder, and more delicate than runner beans, French beans come in climbing and dwarf varieties, in a…

Cucurbita maxima

Pumpkins reward gardeners with the most dramatic vegetables in the garden — some growing to enormous sizes. Be…

Cucumis sativus

Crisp, cool, and refreshing, cucumbers are one of summer's great pleasures. Modern outdoor and ridge varieties…

Asparagus officinalis

An investment in the future. Asparagus takes three years before you can harvest your first cut spears, but onc…

Rheum × hybridum

Rhubarb is the most faithful crop in the garden — planted once, it returns year after year for decades. The ta…

Zea mays

The race between the pot of boiling water and the freshly-picked cob of sweetcorn is one of the garden's great…

Solanum melongena

With their glossy, jewel-like fruit in shades of deep purple, white, and striped, aubergines are among the mos…

Capsicum annuum

From sweet bell peppers to incendiary chillies, Capsicum annuum encompasses one of the most varied vegetable s…

Apium graveolens

Celery is one of the three great stock vegetables — celery, carrot, and onion form the aromatic base of countl…

Allium schoenoprasum

Perhaps the easiest herb in the garden — chives are hardy, perennial, and practically indestructible. With the…

Anethum graveolens

With its feathery, blue-green foliage and soft anise flavour, dill is indispensable in the herb garden. Both t…

Brassica oleracea var. italica

Purple and white sprouting broccoli are among the most rewarding winter vegetables — hardy, productive, and re…

Foeniculum vulgare var. azoricum

Florence fennel produces a swollen, crisp, anise-flavoured bulb at the base of its feathery stems. Raw in sala…

Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus

The globe artichoke is one of the most architectural plants in the kitchen garden — towering, silver-leaved, a…

Helianthus tuberosus

Jerusalem artichokes are vigorous, statuesque plants with edible knobbly tubers that taste like a cross betwee…

Apium graveolens var. rapaceum

Celeriac is the celery of the root cellar — all the rich, earthy flavour of celery packed into a dense, knobbl…

Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes

Kohlrabi grows a swollen, spherical stem just above ground level, with a mild, sweet flavour somewhere between…

Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis

Chinese cabbage — also called Napa cabbage or Chinese leaf — forms a large, elongated, crisp head with crinkle…

Brassica napus var. napobrassica

The swede is the great winter root vegetable of the British table — sweet, dense, and deeply comforting. Roast…

Brassica rapa subsp. rapa

Turnips are among the fastest-maturing root vegetables — pulled young, they are sweet, crisp, and delicious ra…

Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla

Swiss chard — especially the rainbow-coloured "Rainbow Chard" — is one of the most beautiful and productive ve…

Cucurbita pepo

The marrow is the courgette grown to its full, generous size — tender when young and harvested early, but left…

Cucurbita maxima

Winter squashes — including butternut, Crown Prince, and Hubbard — are among the most rewarding crops for flav…

Eruca vesicaria subsp. sativa

Rocket is the fastest-growing salad leaf in the kitchen garden — from sowing to first harvest in as little as …

Petroselinum crispum

Parsley is the indispensable kitchen herb — curly or flat-leaved (the latter preferred by cooks for its strong…

Anthriscus cerefolium

Chervil is the most delicate of the culinary herbs — feathery, pale green, with a subtle anise flavour that va…

Tragopogon porrifolius

Salsify is an almost-forgotten root vegetable — long, white-skinned, and cylindrical, with a delicate flavour …

Scorzonera hispanica

Scorzonera is the black-skinned sister of salsify — equally neglected, equally delicious. The long, cylindrica…

Coriandrum sativum

Coriander (known as cilantro in North America) is one of the most divisive herbs — deeply loved or strongly di…

Brassica oleracea var. italica

Calabrese is the green broccoli of the supermarket — large, domed central heads followed by a succession of sm…