Wild Lettuce (Lactuca virosa) 20 seeds

Wild Lettuce (Lactuca virosa) Seeds: Grow This Delicious, Cold-Loving Lettuce

Wild lettuce is native to Central and Southern Europe, and it can be picked and eaten any time from early spring through to autumn. Into winter, the leaves toughen and become more bitter, before they die off for the rest of winter. Corn Poppy 'Single Red' takes a different tack in the border: scatter it thinly where it is meant to flower, as this annual resents being moved. Anise wants a long warm summer in full sun, and you wait on its ripe seed instead of picking leaves through the season. The hardiness and longevity of this plant makes it a great choice for gardeners who want to raise a salad leaf that they can harvest throughout the year. So long as you don't let it bolt, you'll have a supply of nutrient-rich lettuce leaves from spring all the way through to autumn! Another leaf worth a row nearby is Sorrel (Rumex acetosa), a perennial that sends up fresh tangy growth each spring once it is established.

You can plant the seeds directly outdoors, covering them very loosely with soil. They should germinate in 10 to 20 days, and can even germinate in cold, frosty conditions (though this can prolong things). In fact, warm soil temperatures can stop the seeds from germinating, so don't be tempted to start them off cosy and warm indoors—they like it cold! If you let them bolt, flowers can reach around 2m tall.

This pack contains 20 wild lettuce (Lactuca virosa) seeds. Mallow (Malva sylvestris) follows a similar two-year rhythm in the border, yet it stays shorter and it's the flowers you gather rather than the leaves. Patience is what Asparagus 'Argenteuil' wants, because those crowns stay put for years before you start cutting spears each spring. Daisy family cousin Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is a perennial with a deep taproot, sown barely covered and picked for young leaves. Sowing a mixed patch of annuals, biennials and perennials? Compare the lot in our wellness and garden plant seeds selection.

Native to Africa and southern India, Klip Dagga goes into moist compost indoors at the end of April.

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