Branch out! Try growing different vegetables

The vagaries of spring weather means we’ve gone from reaching for the oilskins to rummaging around for suncream in the space of a week. 

Fortunately this is just what our gardens need to accelerate towards established growth of blooms and roots. As if in a metaphor for life, all the torrential downpours have now turned into a valuable resource underground. If only we could have seen that at the time!

Planting seeds and weeding is essential in April and it's one of the most exciting times of year for flowers in particular.  Don’t panic if you’ve been too busy as you can always buy plants to drop in but try and find time to research new and unusual plants you’ve not tried before. Taking a risk on something different can always lead to new favourites. If you don’t try them you'll never know. 

Sanguisorba ‘Proud Mary’ is an unusual looking deep crimson, oblong shaped flower for the middle of the border. Its bearskin helmet shape makes clump look like drunken Scots Guards when they sway around gently. 

Tassel flower or  ‘Emilia coccinea’ is an annual for the front of the border that for some reason, probably because of its scarlet orange crew cut flowers, reminds me of Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street. It even has the added benefit of greenish blue foliage. If you are lucky it will self seed in a sunny well drained spot and trick you into thinking it’s a perennial.   

Creeping zinnia ‘Sanvitalia procumbens’ will spread low across a bed and is effectively like a miniature group of rudbeckia which can only be a good thing. When sowing, you can just drop them on top of the compost as they need a good deal of light to germinate. 

I find making time to sow seeds triggers the rest of a gardening season. Once they've sprouted, they just require frequent watering and maybe potting on and that’s it, they can go outside and admire. 

On the Plot

Heirloom varieties of vegetables are often overlooked while we stick to veg the supermarkets have trained us to like. The truth is there is a raft of different produce to grow and that’s the beauty of having growing space. It gives us freedom to explore new species and flavours. 

Asparagus pea is a quirky ridged pea that only slightly tastes of asparagus, the delicate rusty red flowers are another reason to grow it and it will climb up anything given half a chance.  They will crop and just keep coming but you might have to get amongst the foliage to spot the peas as they seem to use camouflage to deter mice and blackbirds. 

Melons are worth the effort but it's best to have some kind of glasshouse structure. 

In the same way you can grow pineapples in a hot bed, it’s the same with melons but to a lesser degree. Gallia /Ogen varieties are reliable in the UK. The sophisticated part of melon growing is keeping the soil moist and fed and then netting/cradling them as they develop. Everything is late this year so if you've missed sowing melons then buy a plant or two and see how you get on. You will be pleasantly surprised at the difference a home grown melon tastes to the water flavoured ones that can be produced on an industrial scale. 

Heirloom varieties of regulation root vegetables are easily available once you start looking and it can transform the enjoyment gained from growing your own. 

There are more seed swapping events popping up in village halls and community centres and sometimes they can be found there too. Having diversity in the veg patch is essential to keep the horticultural gene pool healthy and give a wide variety of pollinators more opportunity to get the pollen they need.