Oriental & Speciality

For centuries, Samphire was food for the poor, free to those who picked it, usually ordinary people living by the sea. It is ironic that today it is regarded as a specialty food and is often served with an accompanying price tag. Somewhere between asparagus and seaweed in flavour, Rock Samphire has the thrill of a mermaid’s kiss.

Cuminum Cyminum has a richness of history that gives it a special place in the world of spices. Cumin is globally popular and an essential flavouring in many cuisines. Easy to grow, this versatile spice makes a wonderful addition to any herb garden and does wonders in the kitchen.

Dandelion is reviled by lawn manicurists yet, like Burdock, it is one of the most esteemed herbs in healing, the benefits are endless. The young raw leaves can be used in salads or cooked as a vegetable, the leaves contain more iron than spinach and are a excellent source of vitamins.

A relatively new vegetable in the English-speaking world but well-known in Asian cuisine, the flavour of garlic chives is more like garlic than chives, though much milder. Both leaves and the stalks of the flowers are used a stir fry ingredient. The flowers may also be used as a spice.

Komatsuna ‘F1 Comred’ has rich ruby red leaves and contrasting green stems. Ideal as baby greens, the flat, round leaves are tinted red above and green with red veins below, they maintain their colour under crop covers or glasshouse. The plants are uniform with excellent upright growth for easy harvest.

Komatsuna, F1 Samurai is a robust and reliable Komatsuna, it is longstanding and with good yield potential. With a dark green round/oval leaf and a nice upright habit they are easy to harvest. It can be sown virtually every month of the year, for glasshouse or tunnel crops or open field.

Lemon grass is widely used as a herb in Asian and Caribbean cooking. It has a citrus flavour and can be dried and powdered, or used fresh. It is commonly used in teas, soups, and curries and is also suitable for poultry, fish, and seafood.

Luffa acutangula is a very versatile plant. As a vegetable, the leaves can be eaten in a salad, the very young gourds, known as Chinese Okra they taste like aubergine. The matured dried gourd develops into a fibrous netting. It is an excellent sponge and makes a wonderful exfoliator.

Malabar Spinach, is a vining type of plant that thrives in hot temperatures, it is a discovery that is a boon for those of us that love our greens but find the warm days of summer a bit too hot for good growth. It can be grown throughout the summer and can even cope when the heat exceeds 32°C (90°F).

Commonly called Malabar Spinach, Basella rubra is valued for the brilliant fuchsia-purplish colour of its leaf stems and veins as well as its mild flavour. The leaves are delicious mixed in with other greens in tossed salads. Juicy and crisp, the flavours of citrus and pepper accompany the succulent leaves.

Mibuna is a delicate and unusual plant that has been grown for centuries in Japan. It is best enjoyed in baby leaf salads where its addictive flavour can shine, or in stir-fries for a milder taste. Perfect for “cut and come” scissor harvest.

Minutina, also known as Erba Stella is a unique, cold weather salad green prized in Italy for its mild nutty flavour and crunchy texture. This perennial can be grown all winter in temperate climates. With a mild nutty flavour and crunchy texture it is a great addition to salad mixes or for stir-frying.

Mitsuba is a classic seasoning that is very popular in Asian cuisine. Used as both an herb and a salad green and added fresh or cooked to anything from soup to sushi. Mitsuba's look and aroma are distinctive, for the herb aficionado or aesthetically motivated cook, it is a great addition to the gourmet garden.

The marvellous Mizuna is an oriental wonder! It grows as a large rosette of finely serrated, feathery leaves, which are dark, glossy green, similar to rocket leaves. A very hardy plant, being both heat and cold tolerant, it usually grows better in moist conditions.

Upright, fast and frilly, Mustard ‘F1 Red Dragon’ is a mild mustard, bred for fast growth and resistance to bolting with beautifully patterned purple and green, with lime green petioles and purple veining. An excellent choice for early spring right through to late autumn cropping.

Mustard 'Green Frills' has attractive and sweet leaves that are fringed and finely serrated with the tangy flavour of gourmet mustard. Use it with other salad leaves to create your own bistro salad to suit your tastes. They are fantastic when lightly steamed, stir-fried or sautéed.

Leaf mustard comes in an array of shapes and sizes, but if you want colour, choose the beautiful Mustard ‘Red Frills’. True to its name, the attractive and sweet leaves are finely serrated. The fringed burgundy-red leaves add the taste of mustard and horseradish to salads, stir fries and sandwiches.

Boasting magnificent, savoyed, purple-red leaves edged and veined pale green. Mustard ‘Red Giant’ is a vigorous growing broad leaf variety. Commonly found in mesclun mixes, the leaves are slightly textured and the mild mustard flavour is fresh and zesty.

Mustard ‘Wasabi-na’ is a Japanese specialty mustard, bred for its wasabi like flavour. Bolt resistant and hardy, it can be grown almost all year round. Use delicate baby leaves for salad and fresh eating and mature leaves for tsukemono, ohitashi, stir-frying, and pickling.