The seed of an idea... Use our guide to decide what to plant this year

By Martyn Cox
Updated: 11:13 EDT, 3 January 2011

When the weather is nippy, nothing beats curling up in front of the fire with a pile of seed or plant catalogues and making a list of what you fancy growing this year.

It’s worth adding brand new varieties as many nurseries are launching some exciting flowers, trees, shrubs, perennial climbers, vegetables and fruit in 2011.

Unfortunately, not all of them are worth growing, so I’ve put together my pick of the best. 

Top pick: Not all new varieties of seeds are worth planting. Martyn Cox tells us which ones to buy

Among the best annual flowers are sunflower Valentine, a multibranching specimen that produces lots of bright yellow heads with a black centre on 5ft stems.

It has been launched by Plant World Seeds in Newton Abbot, Devon, a company that has also unveiled a variegated morning glory – Ipomoea Harlequin is an annual with white splashed leaves and purplish flowers with white edges.

Chrysanthemum Pennine Flute from Woolmans Nursery has pink flowers with spidery petals that appear from September until the first frost, while Thompson & Morgan’s sweet pea Ballerina Blue is a vigorous annual with blue flowers.

But my top flower for 2011 is foxglove Snowy Mountain. Unveiled by Thompson & Morgan, the 5ft flower stems are topped with white flowers that face upwards.

If you’re looking for an ornamental tree, check out Malus Jelly King. This crab apple grows to around 10ft and is desirable for its scented white flowers in spring, followed by large orange fruit in autumn. It’s available via mailorder from Norfolk-based Whispering Trees Nurseries.

John Woods Nurseries in Suffolk is launching a range of exciting new shrubs. Physocarpus opulifolius Little Devil is a bushy plant that will reach 3ft.

Here to help: Martyn Cox's recommendations include foxglove Snowy Mountain and crab apple Malus Jelly King

Its branches are covered in purple leaves that make the perfect foil for masses of button-like white blooms that appear in summer.

Rose lovers should look out for Joie de Vivre, a compact variety with perfumed pink flowers. This disease-resistant variety is great in pots and has been named Rose of the Year 2011.

If I could grow just one tree, shrub or perennial climber it would have to be clematis Celebration.

It is a truly stunning plant that will transform a wall or fence with a mass of bright golden foliage and double cobalt blue flowers that appear in late spring and early summer. Available from Thorncroft Clematis Nursery, it grows up to 6ft.

There’s a raft of new vegetables to choose from. Tomato Losetto is the first-ever trailing tomato that is resistant to blight. This introduction from Thompson & Morgan produces masses of cherry-sized fruit.

Want to pep up your salads? Try radish Zlata, a yellow-skinned variety that is ready for picking six weeks after sowing. Equally head-turning is beetroot Golden Detroit. Both are available from Suttons Seeds in Devon.

Those who want to turn up the heat should check out chilli pepper Orange Wonder from Mr Fothergill’s, which has also taken the wraps off runner bean Pickwick, which can be grown in a pot.

Also making a bow at Mr Fothergill’s is strawberry Finesse, a variety with glossy, orangey-red fruit that produces its first flush of fruit in June.

Apple Redlove produces unique red-skinned and red-fleshed fruit, but my favourite fruit to try in 2011 is currant Gloire de Sablon, thanks to its long strings of translucent pink berries. Both have been launched by Suttons.

www.thompson-morgan.com, 0844 5731818; www.mr-fothergills.co.uk, 0845 3710518; www.johnwoodsnurseries.co.uk, 01728 745145; www.suttons.co.uk, 0844 9220606; www.plant-world-seeds.com, 01803 872939; www.thorncroftclematis.co.uk, 01953 850 407; www.whispering-trees.co.uk, 01366 388752; www.woolmans.com, 0845 6589137.