The Galician tapas chilli is usually picked young and green: a variety for small pan-cooked portions. Choose Padrón for recognisable tapas and many small, green pickings rather than uniform hot sauce.

Gardening guide

Painted Hills: discover its flavour and how to grow it

Multicoloured sweetcorn on plants potentially around two metres tall, developed through a targeted American cross. Choose Painted Hills for multicoloured cobs and a slightly sweet profile. It is a named selection whose colours can vary between cobs.

Illustrative species image of Growing pak choi: crisp stalks from a bed or container

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This image was created with AI from described plant characteristics and growing advice. It shows a possible situation and is not a photograph of a verified cultivar.

Gardening guide

Growing pak choi: crisp stalks from a bed or container

Pak choi offers two enjoyable harvest choices: young loose leaves for a quick meal, or a whole plant with firm leaf stalks. A small late-summer sowing helps you get to know the crop. A container works too if you provide space, moisture and protection for the young leaves together.

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Illustrative species image of Growing cavolo nero: a green leaf tower for garden and kitchen

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This image was created with AI from described plant characteristics and growing advice. It shows a possible situation and is not a photograph of a verified cultivar.

Gardening guide

Growing cavolo nero: a green leaf tower for garden and kitchen

Cavolo nero bears long, often dark, blistered leaves along an upright stem. It is an attractive edible plant for a bed or generous pot. Pick gradually from the bottom and leave new growth at the top. Do not automatically expect Tuscan types to have the same winter hardiness as Dutch curly kale.

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Gardening guide

Pamplemousse du Grand-Père: discover its flavour and how to grow it

A large French beefsteak tomato, slightly flattened and ribbed, with orange and pink veining in skin and flesh. For anyone seeking a pineapple-like appearance and wishing to compare the relatively earlier alternative described by the supplier; it remains a mid-season tomato.

Gardening guide

Pantos: discover its flavour and how to grow it

A vigorous mid-late variety with conical, red fruits and thick, juicy flesh. Choose Pantos when thick, juicy flesh matters more than the earliest possible harvest.

Illustrative species image of Growing sweet peppers: warmth, gentle support and colour on the plant

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This image was created with AI from described plant characteristics and growing advice. It shows a possible situation and is not a photograph of a verified cultivar.

Gardening guide

Growing sweet peppers: warmth, gentle support and colour on the plant

A sweet pepper in a large pot can bring colour to a balcony for weeks. In a greenhouse, the plant enjoys a longer warm season. See how a loose tie supports a fruit-bearing branch and follow the fruit from young green peppers to your variety’s final colour.

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Gardening guide

Growing Parmex: round carrots for a bed or pot

Parmex forms small, round carrots. Discover when this variety makes sense for heavy or stony soil and how to approach pots, emergence and harvesting practically.

Illustrative species image of Growing parsnips: steady sowing for a long root harvest

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This image was created with AI from described plant characteristics and growing advice. It shows a possible situation and is not a photograph of a verified cultivar.

Gardening guide

Growing parsnips: steady sowing for a long root harvest

Parsnips need little spectacle above ground and plenty of room below. Sow fresh seed directly in a deep bed, keep the row clearly marked and give germination time. Later, you can lift one root for an autumn meal and leave the rest in the ground.

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Illustrative species image of Growing pattypans: small saucer fruits from a summer bed

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This image was created with AI from described plant characteristics and growing advice. It shows a possible situation and is not a photograph of a verified cultivar.

Gardening guide

Growing pattypans: small saucer fruits from a summer bed

Pattypan is a summer squash with a distinctive scalloped shape. A young, small fruit is often the tastiest introduction. A bush variety needs a spacious bed or a generous pot; do not let the harvest grow too large out of sight beneath the broad leaves.

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Gardening guide

Growing pawpaws: a garden full of flavour

Pawpaw brings a tropical-tasting flavour to a tree you can follow in your garden. It is a long-term project with unusual flowers and soft fruit. Start with two demonstrably different selections, a permanent spot and a plan to observe pollination yourself.

Gardening guide

Growing pears: a garden full of flavour

An espalier pear can turn a bare fence into a harvesting spot, while a freestanding tree gets its own corner of the garden. Choose deliberately between eating crisp fruit and letting it soften after picking. A pear tasted too early reveals little of its eventual character.

Gardening guide

Pegasus: flavour and growing

Late; large sweet fruit.

Illustrative species image of Comparing chillies and sweet peppers: one warm crop, different harvest choices

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This image was created with AI from described plant characteristics and growing advice. It shows a possible situation and is not a photograph of a verified cultivar.

Gardening guide

Comparing chillies and sweet peppers: one warm crop, different harvest choices

Capsicum annuum includes sweet peppers and many hot chillies. They share basic needs for warmth, light and steady root growth, but fruit size, flavour and harvest stage differ. Use this group article to choose your project, then read the specific article for chillies or sweet peppers.

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Illustrative species image of Growing chillies: a warm crop with its own picking rhythm

AI illustration

This image was created with AI from described plant characteristics and growing advice. It shows a possible situation and is not a photograph of a verified cultivar.

Gardening guide

Growing chillies: a warm crop with its own picking rhythm

A chilli plant is a little project for the season: start it early, grow it in warmth and watch new fruits develop. A generous pot on a sheltered patio or a spot in the greenhouse makes care manageable. Choose variety and heat level carefully; a fruit's colour does not tell you how hot it tastes.

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Gardening guide

Pepperoncini: discover the flavour and growing

An old Italian selection with fruits approximately 7–10 cm long, green-yellow turning red, on a vigorous, compact plant. Choose Pepperoncini for preserving small, milder chillies rather than an extremely hot habanero.

Gardening guide

Peregrine: flavour and growing

White flesh.

Gardening guide

Persuasion: discover its flavour and how to grow it

Pink, round to oval fruits with green and golden stripes and indigo accents: a mid-season selection by Brad Gates. Choose Persuasion for multicoloured pink fruits and described storage suitability, rather than for a uniformly red selection.

Gardening guide

Growing peaches: a garden full of flavour

With a peach, you grow a fruit that you can let reach just the right moment for eating. A fan against a wall also makes it easy to see which young shoots you keep. Compare white and yellow flesh, rather than only the red blush.

Gardening guide

Parsley: varieties, growing and uses

Parsley deserves more than a role as a garnish. A robust flat-leaved variety can be the mainstay of a salad; a tightly curled form adds structure along the edge of a container. Two leaf shapes immediately offer variety without needing ten similar names.