POSH FRUIT & VEG
“It’s not just about culinary cachet – edibles only make it into Chelsea if they look supermodel-gorgeous too”
ONLY A CERTAIN CALIBRE of vegetable and fruit makes it into Chelsea. It’s not just about culinary cachet either, otherwise recent years would be nothing but pomegranates and quinoa! Edibles only make it into Chelsea if they can look supermodel-gorgeous too. Here are five plants no potager should be without. 1 Rainbow chard: The glossy lipstick stems of rainbow chard add colour to any edible garden. Beautiful at Chelsea, and gorgeous in your next chard and feta tart. 2 Kale: Darling of the smoothie brigade, kale has shaken off its windswept allotment roots and is now all glamour. Inky-leaved cultivars scuh as ‘Redbor’ or blacktongued Tuscan kale (cavolo nero) are a Chelsea favourite. 3 Pomegranate: It’s hard to find a recipe without this on-trend fruit. More of a challenge is getting it to fruit since the season is short unless you’re in the sheltered south. Look out for cultivar ‘Provence’ (hardy to -20C/-4F), or grow in a conservatory. 4 Sea kale: Channel the hipster-foraging zeitgeist by adding sea kale to your garden. Yes, you need sharply drained soil, but not sand-dune extreme soil. Buy ‘thongs’ (roots) in spring. 5 Quinoa: Surely one day this six-foot grain will feature in a show garden? They’d have to settle for foliage and flowers rather than the rainbow-hued late autumn seedheads though – it would be tricky to force them for May.