April

Radish ‘China Rose’ is a traditional winter hardy variety that produces long, tapering roots with attractive rosy pink skins and crisp, pure white flesh. Its cylindrical roots grow 15 to 20cm long and add flavour to winter salads. The leaves can also be added to salads and stir fries.

Radish 'Long White Icicle' is a uniform strain which forms long, pure snow-white roots. The white flesh is crisp and mild and less pungent than that of the round varieties, they have a spice that warms the tongue, but doesn’t bite back. Very easy to grow and ready for harvest only 25 days after planting,

Quick to grow and beautiful to look at, Radish 'Rainbow Mixed' is a visually stunning selection of coloured-skinned radishes. A very exciting sight to see when picked and an excellent choice for salads and gourmet dishes.

Not your average radish, Radish ‘Viola’ is one of the jewels of veg patch. This dramatic, magenta-skinned variety is quick to mature and makes a delightful presentation on the plate. High yielding in limited space, they can be grown wherever there is sun and moist, fertile soil, even on the smallest city lot.

Radish 'White Hailstone' is a brilliant white, sweet, white globe radish. Especially crisp, tender and with a mild flavour that keeps well once pulled. not too spicy and stay mild even as they grow larger.

'F1 April Cross' is a Minowase type hybrid daikon radish. A market leader for its extra-slow bolting habit, tender mature flesh and reliable harvest. Recommended for late summer to early summer harvest and for early winter harvest, they are an excellent variety for home gardeners. Sow seeds after the last frost in spring or in late summer to early autumn. They have a mild taste that is tender, buttery, and mild. 60 days.

The colourful 'Watermelon Radish' of historic China. The magic is in their bright-magenta interior which is so sweet, crisp, and delicious. A winter radish, for autumn and winter sowing they will tolerate temperatures down to around -3°C. The bright pink and white flesh makes a beautiful accent for any salad. They are also good for pickling. 45 to 55 days.

Glaskin's Perpetual was first raised in Brighton and produces large, long stemmed, bright red stalks which are juicy and hold good flavour. Very reliable and quick to establish, it is the only rhubarb that can be harvested late in the season (hence the "Perpetual"). Excellent for tarts, pies, jam, wine, forcing etc.

Rhubarb Victoria was introduced by Joseph Myatt of Deptford in 1837. It is one of the easiest to raise from seed and can usually start to be harvested one year after sowing. It produces sweet, juicy, medium sized green stalks with green-red leaves. A popular forcing variety being extremely productive for years.

Relatively unknown to our shores, Rocket ‘Olive Leaf’ is an excellent selection of the traditional Italian olive leaf wild rocket. With a beautiful light green colour and smooth shape similar to an olive leaf, this perennial form has a distinctive aroma and flavour that is more subtle than the usual wild rockets.

Root Parsley Hamburg is an off-beat, dual purpose vegetable that deserves to be better known. The root can be left in the ground all winter and dug up as and when your Sunday roast requires and the luxury of having plenty of leaves to snip from the garden in winter can’t be overstated.

Rosemary can be used for ornamental, culinary and medicinal purposes. The aromatic, evergreen shrub, native to the dry hills of southern Europe and North Africa, can be grown as a clipped hedge, along the edge of a retaining wall, pruned and shaped as topiaries and as a container patio plant.

Salvia officianalis, as the Latin name implies, is the original aromatic foliage used for centuries to flavour stuffing, meats and even make sage tea. Good with cheese and is often combined with thyme and used with beans and in soups, of course, nothing says stuffing like good old Garden Sage.

Salad Burnet is a wonderful old herb that makes a great addition to any garden. It was planted along pathways 'to perfume the air most delightfully, being trodden on and crushed', the delicate leaves have a subtle cucumber flavour and today are used in salads, as a flavouring and to add interest to cold drinks.

Salsify may be a chic new vegetable with the foodie crowd but it just happens to be an old-fashioned heritage root crop. This unprepossessing Mediterranean winter vegetable has a delicate taste, ever so slightly sweet, some say slightly reminiscent of oysters, so much so that it is also known as the 'oyster plant'.

Salsola komarovii, popularly known as Okahijiki is considered to be one of Japan’s oldest vegetables. A gourmet specialty, it is found in the wild growing in salt laden coastal marshes. A first tentative taste of a sprig reveals a surprising texture, the tubular leaves and branched stems are juicy with a crisp texture and salty flavour.

Sanguisorba officinalis is a native of Europe and an old-world herb that is currently enjoying a resurgence in popularity thanks to the revival of interest in perennial gardens and naturalised form of planting. Perfect for natural style planting schemes, it looks right at home in a swaying sea of grasses.