Grow colourful fruit and veg

Break from the norm and wow your friends with these bright and cheery varieties

Carrot ‘Purple Haze’

Purple carrots have been bred from purple-rooted, wild carrots found in the heartland of Europe, where summers are hotter, so they do far better in a warm summer. It’s a good idea to sow them from late-April onwards, once the soil has really warmed up, because germination will be better. If you use a 10cm (4in) wide drill, you won’t have to thin them. Modern F1 purple varieties, with added vigour and uniformity, include ‘Purple Haze’ F1. This produces pointed, Nantes-type carrots with a shiny, purple skin and pale-orange flesh. Newer ‘Purple Sun’ F1 is purple through and through. From www.suttons.co.uk.

Dwarf French bean ‘Polka’

Yellow French beans look great on a plate and can be sown directly into the ground from the middle of May right up until early July. All French beans are frost tender and the slightest cold snap stunts them, so fleece on chilly nights and be wary of slugs. Dwarf varieties can be grown in containers, or in gaps in the vegetable garden, or in dedicated rows, and they're pretty enough to have in a flower patch, too. ‘Polka’, a popular eastern European variety, produces pale yellow pods while ‘Sonesta’ is a brighter yellow bean. Later July sowings perform well in September. From www.justseed.com.

Potato ‘Salad Blue’

Wild potato species come in a range of colours, including blue, red, almostblack and purple, and people have been enjoying the floury taste of blue potatoes for over 100 years. ‘Salad Blue’ is a 1900 heritage maincrop variety and it’s usually cooked with the skin so that it keeps its colour. All potatoes are easy and bountiful, and you can just about still plant them now. They’re frost-tender South American plants, so mid-April onwards is an ideal time to get them going. First and second earlies, harvested from July onwards, can cope 30cm (1ft) apart, but maincrops need more space. From www.patchseedpotatoes.co.uk.

Apple ‘Redlove’

This series of berry-flavoured, red-fleshed apples was bred by Swiss company Lubera, who are specialists in colourful and unusual fruit. ‘Redlove’ can be picked and eaten straight from the tree from September onwards and any surplus apples will store until Christmas. It keeps its colour when cooked, too. The fruit is an ideal size for children and the blossom is a rich purple-pink, so it’s a decorative tree for a small garden. Place all fruit trees in a warm, bright position that’s as frost-free as possible, to encourage pollination and fruit set. Pre-order from summer from www.lubera.co.uk.

Brussels sprout ‘Red Rubine’

This dark-red, heritage Brussels sprout keeps it colour once cooked, so gardeners often grow a few plants for their Christmas lunch. Ideally the seeds should go in during March and April, but there’s still time to sow now for a later crop. When sowing all brassicas it’s best to use modular 6 x 4 trays. Pop two seeds into each compartment, then tweak out the weaker seedling. It’s vital to plant them as soon as the roots reach the bottom of the module. If it’s dry, puddle them in by filling the hole with water. Brassicas need nitrogen, so give them pelleted or powdered chicken manure. From www.dobies.co.uk.

Strawberry ‘Pineberry’

This novelty strawberry, with white flesh freckled with red, has an unusual flavour reminiscent of pineapple, hence its name. It’s a recent introduction but was originally discovered in France by Dutch farmers. They reselected the best plants and at this time of year you’ll likely get cold-stored plants that will produce a crop for next year. Protect early strawberry flowers from frost by fleecing, and feed with a potashrich fertiliser between May and July. Cut off the foliage after fruiting and give plants a good watering. From www.gardennewsshop.co.uk.

Raspberry ‘Autumn Amber’

This apricot-coloured raspberry was selected at East Malling in Kent and was released in 2012, to coincide with its 100th anniversary. It's a deliberately bred cross and has a less-acidic flavour than red-fruited varieties, so it’s popular with children. Like all autumn-fruiting raspberries, the smooth stems will produce an autumn crop, if cut back hard in spring, because this primocane raspberry fruits on first-year wood. The flavour’s excellent and the berries are large and conical, but this autumn-fruiting raspberry will need supports. Pre-order from summer from www.lubera.co.uk.