A cross between a runner bean and a French bean 'Firestorm', has the best of both and being self-fertile, you can rely on a bountiful harvest of top quality, fresh and tasty beans. With its bright scarlet flowers, it brings a splash or fiery colour to the vegetable plot and wouldn't look out of place in flower borders. A popular and reliable variety, the long, straight beans have a scrumptious sweet flavour and firm texture. Growing up to 25cm (10in) and being stringless, they are perfect when lightly steamed or boiled. A heavy cropping variety, 'Firestorm' will produce armfuls of delicious fresh beans for your kitchen and there will undoubtedly be lots lets over for freezing. Runner beans are highly nutritious and rich in vitamin C and a good source of fibre. Trim and blanch surplus crops to store in an airtight container or bag in the freezer. They will freeze well, retaining good flavour and texture when cooked from frozen. Fully deserving its coveted RHS Award of Garden Merit, you can be sure that this is a proven garden performer, guaranteed to be suitable for UK gardeners at every level of experience. You can therefore plant this in the garden with confidence and look forward to a bumper harvest. Supplied as 6 plug plants, ready for growing on or planting. Growing to 2m (6½ft), with beans ready to harvest from July to October.
One of the most attractive brassicas you can grow, purple sprouting broccoli 'Red Fire' will crop in early spring when there is little else growing in the vegetable garden, producing densely packed clusters of deep purple buds above thick, tender stems and rich green leaves that are just as good to eat. 'Red Fire' makes a colourful and tasty ingredient whether prepared raw for salads or dips, or steamed, boiled or stir-fried. It makes great soup, too - an ideal way of using up any leftover stems and leaves. Excess crops will freeze well, so you can enjoy this versatile veg throughout the year, long after its season has finished. Although grown for its tasty purple spears, all parts of the plant are highly nutritious - a great source of fibre and protein, as well as vitamins and minerals. The leaves hold the highest levels of antioxidants and vitamins, and the stalks contain the most fibre - far too good to waste! Easy to grow, broccoli will thrive in an open, sunny position in fertile, well draining, moisture-retentive soil. Ideally, dig in some well-rotted manure into the growing site in the autumn before sowing. There is no need to dig over the soil too much immediately before planting as undisturbed soil offers a firm roothold for brassicas and will help them establish quickly and well. Fully deserving its coveted RHS Award of Garden Merit, you can be sure that this is a proven garden performer, guaranteed to be suitable for UK gardeners at every level of experience. You can therefore plant this in the garden with confidence and look forward to an excellent crop. Supplied as 12 plug plants, ready to grow on or plant out, reaching a mature height of up to 90cm (3ft).
A simply stunning Patio Peach tree, 'Crimson (R) Bonfire' has been selected for it's unique and delightful burgundy purple foliage and red coloured peach fruits, all on a genetically dwarf tree too.. Imagine relaxing on your patio in early Summer - the last of the heavenly sweet scent of Mediterranean peach blossom filling the air. Then in late August, reaching out and plucking one of your very own delicious, juicy ripe peaches! This stunning compact peach tree is so easy to grow, perfect in a pot and because it flowers later than many varieties it fruits much more successfully too. A beautifully symmetrical shaped tree its foliage has a delightfully rich burgundy colouration. Combined with the golden orange and crimson peaches it makes a particularly exotic and decorative addition to any patio. Completely winter hardy no matter how cold it gets, you can look forward to your very own harvest of home-grown peaches for years to come. TOP TIP: Peach fruit yield will be increased by keeping the fruit tree canopy dry in blossom and pollination time, such as in a greenhouse, conservatory or lean-to. Although self-fertile, using a dry small artists paintbrush to brush pollen from flower to flower will hugely increase fruit set too! This will massively reduce the curse of Peach Leaf Curl too. Patio Peach 'Crimson (R) Bonfire' really is a delightful little tree, for years and years of enjoyment.
A simply stunning Patio Peach tree, 'Crimson (R) Bonfire' has been selected for it's unique and delightful burgundy purple foliage and red coloured peach fruits, all on a genetically dwarf tree too. Imagine relaxing on your patio in early Summer - the last of the heavenly sweet scent of Mediterranean peach blossom filling the air. Then in late August, reaching out and plucking one of your very own delicious, juicy ripe peaches! This stunning compact peach tree is so easy to grow, perfect in a pot and because it flowers later than many varieties it fruits much more successfully too. A beautifully symmetrical shaped tree, its foliage has a delightfully rich burgundy colouration. Combined with the crimson peaches it makes a particularly exotic and decorative addition to any patio. Completely winter hardy no matter how cold it gets, you can look forward to your very own harvest of home-grown peaches for years to come. TOP TIP: Peach fruit yield will be increased by keeping the fruit tree canopy dry in blossom and pollination time, such as in a greenhouse, conservatory or lean-to. Although self-fertile, using a dry small artist's paintbrush to brush pollen from flower to flower will hugely increase fruit set too. This will massively reduce the curse of Peach Leaf Curl too. Patio Peach 'Crimson (R) Bonfire' really is a delightful little tree, for years and years of enjoyment.
Chinese Witch Hazel Firedance...Spectacular Firework-Like Flowers, Striking All Year Round Foliage, Easy To Grow And Winter Hardy! A plant for all seasons and all gardens the Chinese Witch Hazel Firedance really is one of the most spectacular plants you can own! Incredibly exotic looking this highly prized beauty is actually very hardy and easy to grow. Its glorious, rich burgundy, oval shaped leaves contrast superbly against any green foliage and act as a dramatic backdrop to its spectacular vibrant pink flowers. Often likened to sea coral, the highly unusual ribbon-shaped petals explode from the centre just like a firework and completely smother the plant throughout late Spring and early Summer just when you need interest in your garden. As spectacular in a pot on your patio as in any border, Chinese Witch Hazel Firedance requires nothing more than an occasional trim to keep it in perfect shape.
Nandinas, also known as Heavenly Bamboos, are amongst the best shrubs you can grow for spectacular winter colour from both leaves and berries. With its bamboo-like habit, Nandina 'Fire Power' is a beautiful and compact, producing several upright stems from a tight clump of foliage which is mid-green during spring and summer, tinged with red and purple on new shoots. It produces clusters of small white flowers in summer, that become shiny red berries in autumn, which is the time that the real show begins as the leaves change colour. The evergreen leaves become a spectacular bonfire orange and red, for stunning autumn colour which transforms to deeper maroon as it gets colder and the berries change to brighter and brighter red, so the whole plant is a frenzy of colour throughout winter. An impressive specimen when grown in a pot, 'Fire Power' also looks superb growing in borders, where its bright winter colour is particularly welcome. Supplied as an established plant in a 12 cm pot, ready to plant out, growing to a height and spread of 50 cm (20 in).
Make Christmas more fun by growing your own non-needle drop Nordmann Christmas tree from these cute starter plants. This 3 year old tree has been nurtured from seed, trimmed twice already to get that all important shape started, and grown in its pot for a year, so is now bursting to romp away in its new home. Perfect for planting into a larger pot such as a 20-25cm (8-10in) diameter pot for 2 years or so, or popping straight into the garden soil and growing it outside for a few years, you can watch this tree grow year after year. Tough, evergreen, very hardy and easy to grow. Perfect for celebrating a new home, a new member of the family, or just so the children can learn a lot growing fun trees.
One of the main cooking ingredients in Asian dishes, The Kaffir or Thai lime, Citrus hystrixand makes an attractive plant with its fragrant, glossy green leaves and powerfully perfumed blooms. Picking the leaves every few weeks may help encourage growth and crushing the leaves will release the fragrant oils and an intense citrus aroma. The leaves can be used fresh off the tree, dried or even frozen to retain their intensity. Naturally compact, the Kaffir lime tree is a little smaller than other citrus plants, reaching just 150cm (5ft) tall with a bushier top, but is easily kept as a small plant for continual harvesting of leaves. Mature plants may also produce fruits, which are little knobbly powerhouses of flavour as the Kaffir lime peel is loaded with fragrant citrus oil, which gives a pleasant tingle when eaten. Easy to grow, they just require a slightly higher winter temperature than another citrus, ideally above 12ºC (54ºF). During the summer, plants benefit from spending time outside in a well-draining container on your patio, decking or balcony, and then brought back under cover before the first frosts of winter. Alternatively, you can grow the Kaffir lime in a well-lit conservatory, a bright room, or a heated greenhouse. Supplied in a 12cm pot. It flowers from May to August, but both blooms and fruit (when produced) can be on the tree at any time of the year.