Horticultural aide memoire Dwell on catalogues

Those fruit and vegetable catalogues that thumped on your doormat a few weeks ago can now be consulted with a clear conscience. This information is equally available online, but it’s an altogether more comfortable experience to work steadily through printed pages. Mark the desiderata, then whittle down the list from possibles to probables. Be realistic and rely on trusted favourites, strong-performing F1 hybrids and AGM reliables, but take the opportunity to try out two or three promising novelties. Who knows—they may become the staples of the future.