April

Italy's noble bean grows in cream and claret flecked pods, it is a lovely tasting and strikingly beautiful bean. A dwarf variety growing to just 60cm, Borlotto Suprema is suitable where space is limited, in containers on balconies or as a border plant in small gardens.

French Bean 'Blauhilde' well known German heritage variety that produces attractive purple-skinned pods that have excellent flavour. The entire plant is pretty, purple flowers and purple stems, they produce myriads of flowers from which large, long 20 to 25cm (8 to 10in), fleshy and stringless pods develop.

The ' Yin Yang Bean', also known as the Orca or Calypso bean. This bean is a reminder to stay zen with your gardening, with its distinctive black and white symbol on the seed. A great soup or baked bean, this compact variety grows to a height of around 45cm producing loads of beans with a mild delicious flavour.

Sweet Genovese is often associated with Italian cuisine. Basil is native to the region surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. This delicate herb has with an intense, spicy-sweet, aroma and a slight anise-like undertone. It is THE Basil for pesto and a wonderful companion plant.

Greek Basil is an improved variety of 'Bush'. It has a tight compact growing habit and forms a perfectly spherical bush appearing as though having been pruned. The size and scent make it suitable for growing in virtually any horticultural department:- beds, borders, path edging or even window boxes.

Transform the way you think about basil with a whole new palette of flavours and aromas. Basil ‘Spice Boys Ararat’ produces metallic grey-purple leaves that turn a darker shade of purple when the plant is in flower. Aromatic and striking, the leaves and flowers and are often incorporated into bouquets.

Blooming earlier than most varieties, Basil ‘Blue Spice’ is a heavily fragrant variety with flavours of vanilla, spice and lemon. The dark purple flower stems produce dense spikes of dark purple bracts with light purple flowers. Add the floral sweetness of their perfume, and you have a plant well worth including in any ornamental planting.

Basil ‘Red Rubin’ is a purple version of Italian large leaf basil, a multi-purpose variety that is one of the mainstays of many herb gardens. Distinguished from other purple basils by its sweeter aroma and flavour, the rich, dark purple leaves are more consistent in colour than some of the other purple basils.

Lettuce leaf basil is a popular old Italian variety, a large leafed variety of Sweet Basil and one of the most productive of all basils. With very large, crinkled and highly aromatic leaves, it adds the texture of leaf lettuce while packing a tasty basil flavour to brighten up your summer sandwiches.

Considered one of the best by gourmets and gardeners alike, Aubergine 'Rosa Bianca' is a gorgeous variety with a delicate, mild flavour, creamy consistency. The fruits are produced in abundance, have a meaty flesh and a delicate flavour. They are both lovely to look at and lovely to eat.

Aubergine ‘F1 Patio Baby’ is a unique, high-yielding, compact variety that reliably produces flavoursome, oval fruits with beautiful glossy purple skins. Ideal for growing in the greenhouse and are absolutely perfect grown in containers on the patio. Each plant can produce up to 25 to 50 deep purple-black, egg shaped fruit.

Black Beauty has long been popular with home gardeners. An excellent quality variety, early to mature it gives and abundant crop of tasty fruits that are clear of the ground. Early and prolific, it will be ready to harvest in 78 days, the sturdy plants produce high yields of glossy, purple-black, pear-shaped fruit.

Earlier and hardier than most varieties, Asparagus 'Precoce D'Argentuil’ is an excellent choice for the impatient gardener. Highly esteemed for its thick, rose-purple spears with tender tips and an excellent flavour. In France it is the traditional variety used to create the popular white asparagus.