Cucumis melo, commonly known as Cantaloupe, is a delicious and popular melon variety appreciated for its sweet and juicy orange flesh. Belonging to the Cucurbitaceae family, Cantaloupe is a warm-season fruit that thrives in well-drained, sandy soils with plenty of sunlight. The Cantaloupe fruit is round to oval in shape and typically weighs several pounds when mature. Its thick, netted rind is beige to tan, and the prominent netting or webbing on the skin distinguishes it from other melon varieties. The fruit's interior is where its true allure lies. The flesh is juicy, aromatic, and ranges in ... Learn More

Charentais is one of the easier varieties to grow and perfect for the novice gardener producing very early fruits weighing approximately 1kg. It has a fragrant, thick, extremely sweet and juicy, deep orange flesh. Best grown in the greenhouse in the UK but also particularly suitable for cloche culture. ... Learn More

Galia melons will grow perfectly well in a dry climate, especially on well-draining sandy soil, but early on, the crop requires some moisture in the soil to flourish. Like other melons, it runs along the soil surface as a trailing vine. It grows in a round shape, and is conspicuous by the raised pattern of fine netting on its rough skin. At maturity, it attains 4-6 inches in diameter and usually weighs about 2 to 3 lbs. Inside, the succulent pale green flesh is juicy, and has a soft consistency with a sweet, musky aroma that emanates best in the completely ripe fruits. In addition, it is rich ... Learn More

This is one of the easier varieties to grow, producing sizeable early fruits weighing up to 3kg. With fragrant, thick, extremely sweet and juicy flesh, it has a small seed cavity and light green flesh. The wonderful, vine-ripened flavour of this very sweet, juicy melon is almost wine-like. Best grown in the greenhouse in the UK but is also particularly suitable for cloche culture. ... Learn More

Muskmelon Malaga F1 is a rampant plant, which is resistant to mildew and produces almost perfectly round orange fruit with a characteristic net-like pattern on its skin. The deep orange flesh is thick, juicy and sweet with an aromatic taste. ... Learn More

A 17th century French heirloom originally from the garden of the Bishop of Rennes. An early variety which is well adapted to cooler climates. The fruit are smooth-skinned with slight ribbing and weigh about 2 lbs while the orange flesh has a superb sweet flavour, fine texture and delightful scent. ... Learn More

This rare and strikingly attractive, strongly aromatic plant, comes from the mountains of central and southern Europe and bears jaggedly cut, glossy green foliage, and creamy umbels turning lime green. In late spring it produces large numbers of yellowish-white, sweetly fragrant flowers, which in turn form large, intriguing heads of sizeable, twisted seeds.... And yes, what a brilliant name! ... Learn More

With a fair resemblance to Moraea huttonii, large, iris-like, bright yellow flowers are held well above the thin strap-like leaves, but once again these are different from other moraeas as you will agreeably discover when you smell the sweet perfume! A valuable find from the South African mountains. Few seeds collected. ... Learn More

This fast-growing, drought-resistant tree, native to the southern foothills of the Himalayas in north western India is widely cultivated in tropical and sub-tropical areas. Hanging clusters of fragrant, orchid-like flowers later become hanging fruits which are three-sided brown capsules holding dark brown, globular seeds which have three whitish, papery wings and are dispersed by wind and water and are sometimes eaten like peas or roasted like nuts. The whitish-grey bark is surrounded by thick cork, and in cultivation the trunk is often cut back annually to 1–2 metres and allowed to regrow, an ... Learn More

Abundant, true blue petals open in a disc, with a tiny yellow "ring" at the centre, blooming constantly from late spring into summer. It self-sows anywhere it is happy, giving the appearance of a cloud of blue surrounding spring bulbs to a magnificent effect. The Alpine Forget-me-not is the county flower of Westmorland in the UK, and also the state flower of Alaska where it grows well in open, rocky places high in the mountains, flowering in midsummer. Just a few seeds collected. ... Learn More

Also called Sweet Cicely, Garden Myrrh, and Spanish Chervil, this uncommon and beautiful British native, has ornamental, much-divided, delicate, fern-like foliage and crowded umbels of small white flowers followed by extremely large, shiny-black, decorative seed-heads which are fluted and slightly curved. The whole plant has a pleasant odour of aniseed. Budding chefs can use it for flavouring stewed fruit such as plums, when it is said that it is possible to halve the amount of sugar required. Its crisp stalks make an excellent substitute for celery after light cooking and the leaves have b ... Learn More

This lovely Japanese plant from Honshu has a more compact, upright habit than many catmints, bearing fat spikes of unusually large flared pinkish-blue trumpets on stubby spikes above sweetly fragrant foliage. This treasure is one of the very largest flowered catmints, and being native to damp areas of Japan, it is also more tolerant of moisture than other species. ... Learn More

Possibly the fastest and most impressive plant you can grow from a single seed, this amazing monster was only recently discovered in the Andes of Colombia at around 1800 m. The rare giant Nicandra shrub grows into an incredible plant that can reach a height of 3 m in just a few weeks, with enormous leaves and far larger flowers and fruits than the common, and far smaller Nicandra physalodes. It will provide you with a unique, stunning and extremely fast growing specimen, guaranteed to amaze all of your friends. And just like its smaller relative, it is called the "shoo-fly plant" as it is su ... Learn More

The Parijat, often known as the Night-Flowering Jasmine, is a tree shrouded in elegance and mystery, its name translating to "sorrow of the night" in reference to its ephemeral blooms. This enchanting tree is celebrated for its fragrant, star-shaped flowers with vibrant orange centers that bloom at dusk, filling the air with an intoxicating, sweet aroma. By morning, the delicate blossoms fall gently to the ground, carpeting the earth with a soft, fragrant blanket of white and orange, offering a poetic beauty unmatched by other plants. Its slender, gnarled branches and rough-textured leaves ... Learn More

A quite spectacular small plant with grey-green leaves, above which arise profuse sprays of faintly sweet-scented, pure white, golden-eyed flowers all summer long. This lovely thing will very gently self-seed around the garden but never, ever becomes a nuisance here! Unsurprisingly it is an 'AGM' Award Winner. ... Learn More