Between the brands of Mr Fothergills and Johnsons Seeds, around 40 new ornamentals and edibles will be added to their offering for 2024.

At the annual opening of its trials ground in Kentford, Suffolk they were being grown alongside existing and experimental varieties to ensure they are true to type and perform as expected. New pink and white Zinnia ‘Mazurkia’ was looking vigorous and uniform promising a long flowering period while also being highly attractive to bees and butterflies, while Rudbeckia ‘Cherry Brandy’ brings a new deep red colour break to a normally yellow and orange range.

Of the dahlias, D. ‘Caramel Antique’ and ‘Karma Prospero’ were performing well, while a variety of sweet corn for making popcorn called ‘Field of Dreams’ has tricolour foliage which adds to its garden value.

In the tunnels, 76 different peppers were impressively heavy with fruit while the 75 varieties tomatoes were showing differing reactions to being grown in peat-free growing media. With two plants per grow bag, Brian Talman says he is feeding three times a week to ensure maximum yield. Of the 15 aubergines, the intriguing Turkish Orange looked more akin to a tomato and added to the range of white, purple and almost black fruits which are highly attractive as well as being edible.