Leafy Greens

Shiso ‘Aoshiso’ leaves make for exquisite decoration. It is finely sliced with ginger and added to salads, sautéed vegetables, sashimi, tempura and sushi. Available either red or green, the red having more of an anise flavour and slightly less spicy than the green variety, which tastes more like cinnamon.

Sometimes referred to as Perilla 'Britton' and called ‘Hojiso’ in Japan, this less typical form of Perilla has beautiful bi-coloured leaves. The serrated, red-veined leaves are green on top and deep purple-red underneath.

Summer Purslane was highly esteemed and cultivated in Europe as far back as the Middle Ages, but is now cultivated only for specialised connoisseurs.This wonderfully succulent and cooling herb has tangy leaves make a very nice contrast, in texture as well as taste to other salad leaves.

This highly esteemed ancient crop can be used raw in salads, sautéed as a side dish or cooked like spinach. Summer Purslane has a crispy texture you would expect from a succulent and an interesting nutty, peppery flavour. It is salty on the tongue.

This incredibly succulent, melt-in-your-mouth raw salad green has recently gained popularity in the gourmet greens world, attracting both world class growers and chefs. Best used fresh and tiny, these elegant leaves bring a rich, tart-creaminess to delicate, micro-green salads.

'Wild' or 'Perennial' rocket is gaining in popularity; it has narrower and more deeply divided, aromatic leaves than the annual variety. With a sharp and clean flavour they hardly need a dressing. For restaurant quality micro-greens or pesto, use wild rocket when only the finest ingredients will do!

'Dentellata' is a classic salad rocket with a typical wild rocket indented leaf shape. With good texture and colour it has a mild flavour. Also known as arugula, it is popular in Italy and Southern France, where it has been grown and eaten for centuries.

Rocket 'Pronto' is a very attractive and fast growing salad rocket. A clear improvement to regular varieties, the highly serrated leaves resemble the shape of wild rocket yet are mildly spicy with a nutty, light peppery flavour. Ideal as a bed for seafood and it also makes a wonderful salad on its own.

Rocket ‘Dragons Tongue’ is a distinctive wild rocket variety with striking purple-red leaf veins which contrast beautifully with the dark green leaf. It is the essence of a lightly flavoured rocket – honeyed, grassy and only lightly peppery. It is something a bit little bit different for the salad bowl.

GIOVE, the Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element are the satellites that test technology in orbit for the Galileo positioning system, while Rocket ‘Giove’ is a new wild rocket variety that has been bred for flavour. Bolt-resistant, hardy with a distinctive flavour, I am sure Galileo would have approved of this new variety.

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.

Rocket 'Sorrento' is a reliable main season variety with distinct thick leaf and strongly erect plant habit. A little slower to mature with good field holding ability for summer and autumn crops, the plants are more upright, and bolting is slower than with standard wild rocket. Use as a baby leaf in salad mixes, it will ‘cut and come again’ two to three times.

This trendy Wasabi Rocket actually has the punchy flavour of Wasabi - a Japanese vegetable much like horseradish. It can be picked from microleaf, babyleaf or a larger rocket sized leaf. Easy to grow and packs a full flavoured punch with the unusual flavour of wasabi. .

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!

Sorrel De Belleville is a small French cultivar. It is hardy and well-proven to be productive under almost any conditions with an excellent lemon flavour. One of the earliest green crops and embarrassingly easy to grow, it needs no attention other than when you want to eat it.

Buckler Leaf Sorrel, sometimes called 'True French Sorrel' is a superb salad crop. It has all the best qualities of common sorrel but is a much smaller, more compact plant. It has the same vibrant, lemony taste, but is less sour and it has a softer texture. Its distinct leaves are shaped like a shield.