Leafing through the 2005 seed catalogues, Jane Powers foresees lowly petunias and nasturtiums staging a peasants' revolt.
Pity the poor petunia. Some gardeners won't even let it near their houses, lest it whisper - or rather, trumpet - something about the taste of those who live inside. "Common!", as my grandmother-in-law used to say.
Well, we don't mind showing off our common proclivities in this house, and we love to decorate our window sill with petunias - the brighter the better. Last year, however, in a break with gaudy tradition, I grew a muted (and possibly socially-acceptable) silvery-mauve petunia, 'Pearly Queen' (from Suttons Seeds). The new variety, like many of its species, cascades downwards, but it may also be trained upwards to form a screen. Best of all, it is a tough customer, surviving on minimal watering and feeding (not that I recommend such flagrant petunia abuse), and flowering profusely for months on end.
The nasturtium is another excellent window sill plant, although in some years it falls foul of hideous black aphids. (If you bide your time, hoverfly larvae may appear and eat them up, playing out a grisly drama on the other side of the glass.) A new dwarf cultivar, 'Black Velvet' (Thompson & Morgan, Chiltern Seeds) has plush, red-black blooms and bright green leaves.
Unfortunately, the nasturtium - especially vertically-challenged varieties - just isn't posh enough for some gardeners: something to do with being an annual, and therefore easily-grown by anyone. But annuals are making a comeback. A couple of years ago, the pretty, domed umbellifer Ammi majus (Chiltern) was seen in all the chic gardens. This year, it's another umbellifer, Orlaya grandiflora, with lacy, white doilies of flower. British nurserywoman, Carol Klein, had a delightfully frothy river of it at Chelsea Flower Show last May. This elegant Mediterranean weed is listed in several seed catalogues (Chiltern, Mr Fothergill's, Plant World, T&M).
The columbines (Aquilegia) are enjoying a new popularity, with every seed company offering a good number. There are too many to list here, but let me just mention the double 'Lime Sorbet' (Mr Fothergill's), an aptly-named cool confection, and 'Oranges and Lemons' (Plant World) a fruity mixture of red, orange and yellow bi-colors with a long flowering season.
Belonging to the same family (Ranunculaceae) is a curious annual: the lanky (up to a metre tall) Nigella papillosa 'Midnight' (Chiltern, Mr Fothergill's, Suttons), also known as N. hispanica 'Midnight'. The Spanish and southern French native is beefier than its better-known relative, love-in-a-mist (N. damascena), and has deep-blue flowers, and later on, a dark seed pod. Its dusky tones should help satisfy the current hunger among gardeners for inky plants.
Another such appetite-appeaser is Angelica 'Ebony' (Plant World). According to Plant World owner, Ray Brown, this shiny-leaved dark biennial "caused mayhem when shown at Chelsea". Also at the world's most hyped-up plant show last year was the ornamental millet, Pennisetum 'Purple Majesty', (T&M) an annual grass that starts off green, and ages to a dark maroon as it comes into flower. We were assured at Chelsea by Mr Bradley from the Sun newspaper (on whose stand it was on display) that it is "all the rage in the States" - which prompts me to point out that it probably needs the hottest part of your garden (and plenty of water) to mimic transatlantic summers.
Continuing with swarthy-complexioned ornamentals, Ricinus communis 'New Zealand Purple' (Chiltern) is a new castor-oil plant, two metres tall, of "a sun-reflecting, metallic rich coppery-bronze" with "enormous leaves . . . hammered out of the finest alloy". Castor oil plants are wonderful specimens for a tropical-looking border, with handsome palmate leaves and an immunity to pests. All parts of the plant are poisonous, to humans as well as to critters. The attractive, bean-like seeds are especially toxic - so if there are kids in your garden, nip out the flowers before they set seed.
Bananas are also important elements in the quasi-tropical garden, especially where there is shelter from wind. Chiltern's has nine varieties, including three new ones from Bhutan, Manipur and north-east India.
Although bananas are unlikely to produce edible fruits here, there are hundreds of other food crops that are easy to grow in the tiniest of gardens. Salad leaves (every catalogue has an ever-expanding range) are quick and simple - and bouncing with vitamins and minerals. And out-of-the-ordinary vegetable varieties are great fun (when they appear on your dinner table, there will be many gratifying exclamations). Anyone for weird carrots? Then try 'Purple Dragon' (T&M), 'Purple Haze' (Mr Fothergill's, Suttons), the red Japanese-bred 'Samurai' (Suttons), or 'Rainbow' (T&M). This last is a bit of a misnomer, as the spectrum ranges narrowly between creamy yellow and dark orange. But they're happy-looking roots nonetheless.
Children won't eat their cauliflower? Try 'Trevi' (Suttons), its alien-green curds might spark some interest, as might the yellow tennis balls of the courgette 'One Ball' (Suttons).
Courgettes refusing to set fruit can be a problem in greenhouses or in dull weather. The variety 'Parthenon', also known as 'Partenon' is self fertile, and may be grown either under glass or outdoors - delay planting outside until all danger of frost is past. It's available from T&M, the Organic Gardening Catalogue and the Organic Centre. The last two organisations, are, as their names suggest, the places to order organic seed. And let me remind you again, that if chilli peppers or tomatoes are your "thing", Simpson's Seeds in Wiltshire have a multitude of both, as well as other kitchen produce.
And finally, to end on an esoteric root (to balance our pedestrian petunia at the beginning). Skirret, I'm informed, is difficult to grow properly. What? Skirret. Available from both Chiltern and the Organic Gardening Catalogue, this ancient vegetable (Sium sisarum) was cultivated by medieval Irish monks. Nonetheless, I can discover no-one who has grown it successfully, and eaten it. Even my vegetable mentor, Joy Larkcom says: "We never got anything of any edible size. Don (Joy's husband) was always banging on about it being in records of food in the poorhouse. No wonder they were all so thin." If any reader has grown and eaten skirret, do let us know.
DIARY DATE CORRECTION
Seamus O'Brien's talk, "From Glasnevin to Central China and Taiwan - 2004", will take place at the National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevion Thursday, February 3rd (at 3.15 p.m.), not the 4th, as previously mentioned.
SEEDS OF SUCCESS
Chiltern Seeds, Bortree Stile, Ulverston, Cumbria LA12 7PB, England. 00-44-1229-581137, www.chilternseeds.co.uk
Mr Fothergill's seeds are widely available; enquiries to Goulding Garden Care, Portgloriam, Kilcock, Co Kildare. 01-6284025, www.mr-fothergills.co.uk
The Organic Centre, Rossinver, Co Leitrim. 071-9854338, www.theorganiccentre.ie
The Organic Gardening Catalogue, from Deelish Garden Centre, Skibbereen, Co Cork. 028-21374, www.deelish.ie (send your name and address, and 96 cents worth of stamps).
Plant World, Marychurch Rd, Newton Abbot, Devon TQ12 4SE, England. 00-44-1803-872939, www.plantworld-devon.co.uk
Simpson's Seeds, The Walled Garden Nursery, Horningsham, Warminster, Wiltshire BA12 7NQ, England. 00-44-1985-845004, www.simpsonsseeds.co.uk
Suttons Seeds catalogue, from CP Hackett, 30 Lower Liffey Street, Dublin 1. 01-8734911
Thompson & Morgan catalogue from Mr Middleton, 58 Mary Street, Dublin 1. 01-8731118, www.mrmiddleton.com