April

Winter savory, the perennial savory has the same properties as its summer relative Summer savory, although it has a heavier aroma and a sharper pine type flavour. The small perennial shrubs are semi-evergreen, retaining their leaves in all but the coldest gardens and remain useful all year round.

Anyone who has had the pleasure of traveling to countries such as Japan or China will appreciate the bewildering but totally delicious array of vegetables on offer there. No wonder the Japanese have no problem reaching their official recommended intake of not merely five, but 17 portions of fruit and veg per day!

Mexican Tree Spinach is the latest ‘new’ arrival on the veg-growing scene. With a hundred different names including 'Micro Glitter Spinach' - this is a beautiful plant to have in the garden or allotment. Vivid pink tinged triangular bright green leaves with each new set of leaves blushed a shocking magenta.

'F1 Autumn Crown’ is a new butternut crossed with a Winter squash, Crown Prince F1, which produces the shape of one parent and the buff colour of the other. More importantly, it has inherited early ripening from Crown Prince, setting fruits at least a month before the previously available fastest butternuts.

'Blue Kuri' is a traditional open pollinated Japanese squash that has lovely blue-green skin. This beautiful sweet, versatile squash matures in 95 to 110 days to a convenient 15 to 20cm in diameter. Rich, sweet and nutty, the contrast between blue rind and orange flesh looks great on the plate.

'Burgess Buttercup' sets the standard for buttercup squash. It is considered the sweetest of squash and is smaller and faster to mature than many other winter squashes. The dark green fruits feature a distinctive grey button on the blossom end. Use for roasting with the joint, soups and pumpkin pie.

Squash 'Carnival' is uniquely flecked with shades of green, gold and yellow; each one is different. The plants grow in a semi-bush fashion, ideal for smaller growing spaces and ready in 85 days, they can be harvested as summer squash or left for autumn. The perfect size for cooking whole, they are also pretty enough to decorate the home.

Adaptable to many growing and soil conditions, Squash ‘Delica F1’ performs best in moderate temperatures. It consistently produces high quality, dark green striped fruit with a bright orange, creamy interior. The flesh is of excellent quality, sweet with a delicate taste of chestnut.

Winter Squash 'F1 Honey Bear' is a high sugar Acorn type squash. Mini-acorn fruits are just the right size halved for single servings. The compact plants have a semi-bush habit, are early to mature and high yielding. The sweet golden-orange flesh has a flavour that hints of hazelnuts and pepper.

Blocky, deeply ribbed and extremely bumpy, for most of the season they are a gorgeous dark green to charcoal black, but in autumn 'Futtsu Black Early' mature in a fascinating metamorphosis, to a grey-bloomed dusty orange. Harvest in the midst of their transformation for funky autumn displays or wait for them to ripen completely for maximum flavour, nutty and sweet with hints of chestnut.

This very old Italian Heirloom rustic variety originates from near Venice and is considered the King of Italian Squashes. Round, short, and squat in shape, the dark green to grey-blue skin has slight, vertical ridging and is almost completely covered in bumps. When cooked, Marina di Chioggia squash is tender and sweet with nutty flavours.

Squash 'Turkish Turban' produces decorative fruits that are brightly colourful and striped. 'Mini Red Turban' is a small-sized bicolour variety with red cap and white turban. Perfect for baking or for use as an ornament for decoration in autumn, the taste is nutty and sweet and reminiscent of hazelnuts.

'Spaghetti squash' is a unique variety whose creamy coloured flesh separates into spaghetti-like strands once cooked. Mild, sweet and nutty, this squash is delicious roasted. Sow May to July and harvest up to first frosts, it is a healthy gluten free alternative to pasta or use instead of rice noodles in Asian-style dishes. A great way pack more nutrients into your diet.

An award winning variety of the Japanese Kabocha squash, 'Sweet Mama F1’ is a unique kabocha that produces on a very space-saving short vine. It produces flattened globe shaped fruit with an excellent sweet and nutty flavour. The distinct bush-type growth habit makes it possible to inter plant these vines quite closely.

A curiously-shaped heirloom winter squash from France that is named for the colour and shape of the fruit, Squash 'Turkish Turban' produces attractive, acorn shape fruit, at its blossom end is a Turban-like cap, thus its name. Closely related to the buttercup squash, the taste is similar to other Cucurbita maxima cultivars.