Trailing tomatoes, peppers and green or golden courgettes can be grown in pots, as well as leafy salads, parsley, spring onions, mini-beetroot, sage, chives and many other vegetables and herbs.

Adding a wigwam of canes or a plant support frame to the pot allows you to include climbers, too, such as French and runner beans.

Many new gardeners will prefer to buy young plants from garden centres, but raising plants from seed can save you money and also offers a wider choice of plant varieties.

Try growing crops in tubs on your patio, hanging baskets or window-boxes. Include a few varieties of edible flower, such as nasturtium, calendula or viola to pick for decorating summer salads.

Tomato 'Tumbler' will put on a spectacular show with masses of fruit and foliage spilling over the edge of the container.

Not only are peppers an essential part of the Mediterranean cuisine, the shiny fruits will look perfectly at home in a patio container.

Courgette flowers grown in pots are both attractive and edible and the fruits make a tasty addition to any meal.

Always water plants immediately after planting or sowing and then regularly through the summer.