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 i ... Learn More

One of the most beautiful of the passion flowers, this beauty opens its large, fragrant flowers with deep red petals and a centre crown that contains five rows of numerous white and purple rays. Large leaves hang from stems that are quadrangular in cross section, hence its botanical name. It produces the most enormous fruits of all of the passion fruits, which grow very rapidly, and may weigh up to 4 kg (9 lb) turning to medium yellow when mature. For best fruiting, flowers should be hand pollinated. The ripe fruit is eaten fresh or used in drinks whilst unripe, green fruit is eaten as a veget ... Learn More

Peanuts, are a crop of global importance and are widely grown in the tropics, subtropic and warm temperate zones. Quite uniquely, peanut pods develop under the ground after the pretty yellow flowers on the rising shoots are fertilised. The stems lean over sideways and the developing seed pods bury themselves under the soil where the seed develops inside a hard shell. They are very easy to grow, whether in the garden or a large pot and constantly surprise, and furthermore educate children who try this experiment. ... Learn More

Sprays of white, cream or pink flowers open, sometimes with pink or red markings. The stems, covered with long silvery hairs, are produced from a central rosette of silky leaves which are strikingly marked with a horseshoe-shaped, burgundy-red zone. Very few seeds collected. ... Learn More

This gorgeous species pelargonium displays bright magenta pink flowers, with the upper petals veined and spotted with darker pink. One of the aromatic, scented-leaf pelargoniums, it blooms later than many other species, from July to Oct. Bearing small, kidney-shaped, silver green leaves, this unusual elegant plant is tuberous and may be completely dried out in winter when it is quite hardy. Commence careful watering in early spring if top-growth has dried up. Species within this Reniformia Group are easily recognisable by the distinct flower and leaf shapes and have a high tolerance to cold if ... Learn More

This attractive palm is very widely planted as an ornamental plant in warm temperate regions of the world, especially in areas with Mediterranean climates, and also in areas with a mild oceanic climate. It is easily recognized through its crown of leaves and trunk characteristics and it is common to see Canary Island date palms pruned and trimmed to enhance their appearance. When neatly pruned, the bottom of the crown, also sometimes called the nut, appears to have a pineapple shape. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. ... Learn More

These seeds have been collected from the queen of all dates, the famous, luscious, and very expensive Medjool. These large, soft, sweet fruits will only fruit in the ground in hotter countries, although the smaller specimens make attractive potted plants for a warm courtyard or conservatory. All true edible date palm trees are desert plants, originally from the Middle East, and where they are native they prefer to get 20 to 40 inches of rain per year in the winter, with summers preferably being hot and dry with low humidity. These seeds have been cleaned and stratified and are ready to plant ... Learn More

Impressive masses of yellow flowers are borne in large inflorescences in summer, and most of the species later bear heavy clusters of edible dates. Large, floppy, pinnately compound, evergreen leaves grow above clustering and leaning trunks, with pretty leaf scars making crowded rings, although in younger palms, the stem is covered with leaf bases and matted fibers until they finally fall away. Phoenix is the palm genus par excellence, and as a rule they are native to tropical and subtropical areas where they do best in full sun and do well even in dry and infertile soils. ... Learn More

An easy-to-care-for plant with an attractive trunk bearing the remains of old leaf stems, and also displaying very narrow arching leaflets compared to other palms. It is perfect for anywhere where space is an issue as it never exceeds 3 m. or so, and consequently it also does well in a large container. It is native to southeastern Asia, from southwestern China, northern Laos and northern Vietnam. The Latin specific epithet roebelenii honours the orchid collector Carl Roebelen ... Learn More

The most beautiful and tropical looking of the phoenix palms and also with the greenest leaves, this very graceful tree has soft, gracefully arching, glossy green fronds with hardly any spines at the leaf and bases as in other varieties, along with a smooth, slender, light grey trunk which is solitary, slender, light grey in colour and devoid of any remains of leaf bases or conspicuous leaf scars. It is native to the mountainous forests of India and Bhutan and the lower foothills of the Himalaya in India, namely Sikkim, West-Bengal and Arunchal Pradesh from 300 to 1200 m, usually occurring on ... Learn More

Indian gooseberry fruit eaten raw is quite sour and astringent, and in India it is common to eat gooseberries sweetened or steeped in salt water and turmeric to make them more palatable. Greenish-yellow male and female flowers are carried separately on the same branch and produce fruit which is nearly spherical, light greenish yellow, and smooth and hard in appearance, with six vertical stripes or furrows. The tree has a crooked trunk and spreading branches and the generic name, Phyllanthus, is derived from Greek words meaning leaf-flower, alluding to the apparent bearing of flowers on the le ... Learn More

This tall aroid has many spathes blooming from May to late August, and bears a marked resemblance to a "Jack in the Pulpit" with a similar tubular, pale-green spathe and a long whip-like tail. However, unlike many other relatives, this unusual plant blooms almost non-stop from spring through to the autumn frosts and is surprisingly easy to grow, very hardy, and soundly perennial. ... Learn More

This attractive, unusual and care-free Japanese aroid very much resembles a dwarfer Arisaema tortuosum, with large, extending green spathes and an elongated spadix that emerges from the spathe and extends 20cm up into the air. Although they spread readily, they are not aggressive, being very easy to grow in the woodland garden and a perfect companion plant for Trillium and Cyclamen. ... Learn More

Although it also makes a most attractive flowering vine, this plant, native to India and other south eastern Asian countries, is usually cultivated for its fruits which are dried, and usually powdered, and used as a spice and seasoning. When fully mature they dry dark red and are known as peppercorns and have been used since antiquity for both flavour and as a medicine. The spiciness of black pepper is due to the chemical piperine, which is not the same as the capsaicins in fleshy peppers. Black pepper, white pepper, green pepper, pink pepper, and red pepper are all differently-preserved berri ... Learn More

This exquisite, exotic-looking, slow-growing, diminutive palm, native to the Pacific Island of Vanuatu, grows large, beautifully pleated leaves on a dwarf trunk ridged with old leaf scars and traces of fibrous leaf sheaths, the crown rarely spreading more than 2 metres or so. It is perfect for the smaller exotic garden or even a large container in a conservatory. ... Learn More