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Regarded as both a nutritious vegetable and curative medicinal, the Burdock root is widely used in all sorts of cuisines from the classic English summer drink to the classic Japanese 'Kinpira'. Seeds can be also sprouted like bean sprouts; nothing goes to waste with this plant.

‘Red Bull’ is a specialist sprout variety from Europe, it offers smaller yields of dark red sprouts, but has a milder, delicate, nuttier flavour than standard green types. The red colour is enhanced with the first light frosts. The resulting sprouts are small and tasty, and look gorgeous in the pan and on the plate.

F1 Trafalgar is a splendid, British bred mid season hybrid Brussels Sprout. A tall variety for the November, December and into January cropping period, it is one of the best tasting and sweetest varieties available and a good variety for Christmas sprouts.

Brussel Sprouts 'Evesham Special' has become a real old favourite for its generous crops which are ready particularly early in the season. They will give harvests over a long period from September till Christmas. Growing to only 60cm in height, a good choice for exposed sites and smaller gardens.

Fresh Brussels sprouts, properly cooked, are deliciously delicate in flavour. Bedford Darkmar 21 is an open pollinated, mid to late season variety, Darkmar gives heavy crops of medium sized, dark green sprouts with a fine flavour. Harvest from December so ideal for Christmas.

Calabrese ‘F1 Zen’ is a popular variety that produces well structured, high domed, dark green heads which shed rain well. This midseason variety has some downy mildew resistance. It matures after approximately 90 to 100 days and crops best in autumn after planting out in June.

'Miranda' is a very distinctive new Calabrese. It produces a distinctly beautiful, large violet head on a central stalk. Once the main head is removed, small side shoots form which are tender, delicious and ideal for florets. Hugely fashionable, very pretty to look at and extremely beneficial to health!

A vast improvement on the older varieties. Calabrese Ironman F1 possesses the usual advantages of a hybrid - vigorous habit with excellent uniformity and high yields of larger than normal heads. Producing excellent quality, uniform dense heads and a very good dome shape. Harvest late June to November.

Flourishing famously in Mediterranean and Chinese cultures, elsewhere Raab is still a bit of a curiosity. Easy and fast growing, it can be useful as it comes ready when ordinary broccoli isn't available, but this isn't just a replacement for broccoli, it is a great vegetable in its own right.

Kailan is a fantastic vegetable chimera - the florets of broccoli, the stems of asparagus, and leaves like tender collard greens. 'Kichi' is a uniform variety with large blue green waxy leaves and excellent stem and bud eating quality. It has a mild flavour and, best of all can be harvested in only eight weeks.

This lovely, old fashioned Broccoli variety is a very disease resistant, very hardy and very prolific producer of large dark green heads. Italian Green Sprouting Broccoli is very easy to grow and will produce a number of good-size side shoots once the initial head is harvested.

Extra-Early Purple Sprouting 'Rudolph' is bred to perform well in the September to February period but is at its best from November to February. With medium to large, deep purple, succulent spears that have outstanding flavour, team with Cardinal for a longer harvest period.

Early Purple Sprouting Broccoli has been selected for its hardiness and flavour. Heavy cropping it has good quality spears that can be harvested over many weeks. It is one of the most flavoursome of vegetables, standing beside asparagus and globe artichokes. Sweet and delicate, it melts in the mouth.

Borage is one of the most reliable sources of blue flowers, often flowering lavishly for weeks after sowing. The beautiful blue star-shaped flowers are edible and very important for bees, providing pollen and nectar in prodigious amounts.

The herb borage is a well known annual with beautiful blue flowers. Not so well known and not often written about is the equally beautiful form 'alba' which boast pure white, perfectly star-shaped flowers. This mixed pack of seeds gives both blue and white forms.

The herb borage is a well known annual. Not so well known is the equally beautiful form 'alba' which boast pure white, perfectly star-shaped flowers. Each flower is centred by five black stamens which heighten the drama. The flowers are edible, garden visitors can be converted to herbal advocates simply by offering a taste of its white flower.