Resembling a straight banana with rounded ends, this passion fruit prefers a cooler and less humid environment than others, when it will produce dozens of large, bright yellow fruits which usually hang, hidden, deep within the foliage of the plant, the vines sometimes having the tendency to fall down to the ground with the great weight of the fruit. These are ripe when they are easily pulled from the vine, the interior being a deep, dark orange. Unlike the more common passifloras, this is quite sweet, and when very ripe can be eaten out of hand. It is native to the Andes, and is found wild in Venezuela, Columbia, Peru, and Bolivia at high altitudes up to 5400 to 10,500 feet. In warmer climes the bright pink flowers, which bloom continuously throughout the year, attract hummingbirds, as well as being a favourite food of the butterflies. ... Learn More

"Tongues of fire" is an Italian climbing French bean, with attractive red-purple and green speckled pods. This versatile bean can be cropped young and the pods eaten as flageolets or allowed to mature when the ripe beans can be eaten as haricots. ... Learn More

This Swiss variety of tomato is slightly larger than conventional cherry tomatoes and is rather blocky-ovaloid in shape. The fruit range in size from 10g to 50g and they have a good a ratio of sweetness to acidity with the former prevailing. Bearing in mind their small size, the tomatoes also store very well. (Cordon) ... Learn More

A dwarf, compact variety of basil which is perfect for a kitchen herb garden or container box as it is one of the easier varieties to grow but also produces attractive, delicate white flowers. With a slightly sweet milder flavour, it is great to use with vegetables, cheese and in salads. ... Learn More

Clusters of starry flowers later become bizarre fruits, which are usually oval in shape and at first green before turning yellow then almost white as they ripen, with a vague resemblance in shape to truffles and with a strong smell and sometimes bitter taste. This unusual tree from the coffee family has a native range extending through south east Asia and Australasia. One of the many uses for Morinda citrifolia is for its medicinal properties, in fact, for many cultures in Burma and Australia this fruit is a vital part of their diet. Polynesian healer used this plant for thousands of years to prepare effective remedies to various health challenges. In addition, the bark produces a brownish-purplish dye for batik-makin dyeing. In a study in Costa Rica, looking at its anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects, it reduced inflammation in rats significantly due to the presence of flavonoids, coumarins, iridoids and vitamin C! We cannot guarantee these effects in humans though........ ... Learn More

This early-fruiting sweet pepper is an attractive blocky pepper with large,thick-walled, square-shaped fruits. They start off green and turn fiery red and are high yielding. They are suitable for growing in a greenhouse or in a sheltered position outside. ... Learn More

This rare old Indian variety, which unfortunately produces very few seeds indeed, was named the world's hottest chilli pepper in 2007. With a rough, dented skin in vibrant shades of orange and red this pepper is perfect for making pickles and adding spice to oriental dishes and is also known for its medicinal value for stomach ailments. ... Learn More

This amazing gourd produces up to fifty wonderfully-coloured fruits per plant! The bi-coloured, pear-shaped fruits are orange and green with a smooth, hard skin and looks incredibly attractive nestled in a harvest basket for autumnal decoration. ... Learn More

With a great fruity tang, and it's not too hot, this rare little beauty originates from South America. It is named from its winged shape resembling the flaps on a Bishop's Crown, which are milder and fruitier than the main medium heat part of the chilli (5,000-15,000 SHU). Ripening from light green to apple red, this beautiful ornamental variety crops and ripens later than the majority of other chillies, hence its nickname ‘Christmas Bell’. ... Learn More

A regular-leaved, Russian beefsteak variety, producing attractive, deep reddish-brown fruit with darker shoulders, weighing between 4 and 8 oz. 'Aisberg' means 'Iceberg' in Russian. (Cordon) ... Learn More

Popular and reliable with gardeners since Edwardian times, Black Beauty is an early-medium variety of aubergine. The sturdy plants grow to about 4 feet tall and produce good crops of 4" to 6" long glossy, purple-black, oval fruit. ... Learn More

This heavy cropping variety is everyone's favourite, producing seemingly endless bunches of smallish, ultra-sweet fruits, which resemble large, shiny, dark brown cherries and which have a very rich flavour. A current favourite in up-market shops, it is a very easy-to-grow gem. As long as you keep picking them, heavy hanging bunches of fruit are produced over a surprisingly long period from July right into late September(Cordon) ... Learn More

One of the favourite fruits of the temperate world, blackcurrants produce numerous clumps of sweet, juicy, black fruits, heavily laden with vitamin C and countless other good vitamins, which are unbeatable for jams and juices. These ready-stratified seeds were harvested from some of the best cultivars in the world. Habits will vary a little but all plants will produce several kilograms of fruit when established. The dried leaves are sometimes used to make tea. These valuable plants are also amazingly hardy, surviving to below minus 40 F (which coincidentally is minus 40 C), with little problem. Their main competitor for vitamin C production, the lemon tree, is long dead at this temperature. Prune very old wood back occasionally and these plants will give fruit for very many years. ... Learn More

This early fruiting (in UK conditions) hot pepper produces 30-50 distinctive fang-like fruits. The "fangs" are about 6cm long and change colour from dark green to purple to red but can be harvested at the dark purple stage. The flavour is like a cayenne pepper and can be chopped for cooking or dehydrated and ground into chili powder. It has a score of 71,500 Schoville units so is hot but not extreme. ... Learn More

This dark green, flat-round, kabocha type winter squash, averages 3-4 lb and has deep orange flesh which is medium dry and sweet. It is popular for its strong yet sweet, moist, fluffy texture, which bears a remarkable resemblance to chestnuts. ... Learn More