How can you not love a gardening book that begins with a quote from Goethe’s Sorrows of Werther? Well, OK; that might put some of you off. So I’ll add that despite the literary epigraph, Jennifer ...

It won’t get much taller than knee-high, but it’s prolific -- perfect for the kitchen gardener whose south forty is a few pots on a patio in Silver Lake.

But wait until autumn, when the scorching weather has passed and you are into California’s second spring, and salad days are back. The plants will again grow slowly, producing lots of lush leaves.

What it is: "The Kitchen Gardener's Handbook" supplies a four-season spin through the kitchen garden, chock-full of plant notes and recipes, and dreamy photos of fresh-from-the-garden bouquets.

You can spread your morning toast with 'Algerian' marmalade, squeeze tart juice from Asian limes on your midday seafood plate and lose yourself in the tropical scent of Polynesia from a slice of ...

With courgettes fresh from the garden, Jo Jo gives you some supper inspiration, showing you how to make a sizzling courgette stir fry with lemongrass and pork belly.