Edible garden: Corn salad/Verte de Cambrai

How to grow it:

Also known as "lambs' lettuce" or "mache", corn salad is a cute little green which pops up in winter.

This plant is a real asset to the winter garden, as it self-seeds readily and is a nice surprise when things are looking bare.

Corn salad is not related to sweetcorn - the name refers to the plant growing like a weed in wheat fields.

These plants don't need any special care, they stay a nice compact size and are relatively untroubled by pests.

All in all, it's an ideal no-fuss winter green, with three times as much Vitamin C as lettuce. See kingsseeds.co.nz for this and other unusual winter greens.

What to cook with it:

Incorporate corn salad into a midwinter salad - the sharper-tasting leaf suits a simple blend of walnuts, thinly sliced pear, crumbled blue cheese and a squeeze of lemon juice.