Image by Steve Minor

I defy anyone to tell you that vegetables look boring. This bunch of crops are tasty and striking, and far better looking than a lot of purely ornamental plants.

When I was writing a post for the Guardian gardening blog on good-looking veg, I came across so many incredible crops: patterned, beautifully coloured, and shaped, that I wanted to list them all. So here is the F&F guide to gorgeous potager veg.

We’ll start with the biggest surprise of all: cauliflowers. Normally, I’d keep these brassicas well within the ‘boring’ category when it comes to vegetables, but after meeting ‘Graffiti‘, ‘Cheddar and other beautiful cloud-shaped, brightly coloured caulis, I’ve had to change my mind.

Cheddar cauliflower. Image by Dave Le.’

And then I met Calabrese ‘Romanesco’. Even if you’re not a mathematician who loves fractals, you’ll still be entranced by the incredible fibonaci florets on this vegetable.

Then there’s the squash family, and nothing beats the sight of a fat ‘Turk’s Turban‘ squash ripening in the early autumn sunshine.

Image by Shihmei

Continuing the Jackson Pollock theme, ‘Harlequin‘ is also a fabulous-looking squash.

But if you’re looking for something truly weird and wonderful, then the cow’s-udder-shapped ‘Finger Fruit‘ squash will knock you down. It’s so oddly-shaped that it doesn’t even look like a squash.

‘Finger Fruit’, pictured here with other squashes. Image by Kidsandotherpets.com

Image by Beth

I first saw these ‘Crookneck’ summer squashes in the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. They were scrambling up obelisks in the enormous potager , and on a misty, warm morning, reminded me of the snozzcumbers in the BFG. Fortunately, they taste a lot nicer, and have a better flavour than courgettes, as well as looking supremely odd.

Image by Brenda

But the winner of the oddest-shaped squash is the Snake Gourd. We’ve already seen its incredible filigree flowers which would probably win this plant a place in the hot plot alone. But the fruits…well, they’re pretty special as well. Imagine these hanging down from an arch in your potager, or drying in the sun, like adders sunning themselves.

Image by Susy Morris

Still more beautiful is the incredible range of colours of tomatoes which you can grow. There will be a separate post on this, but for now, salivate over these ‘Dr Wyche’s Yellow’, ‘Azoycha’, ‘Sub-Arctic Plenty’ and ‘White Beauty’ grown by Susy Morris from Chiot’s Run, and the rainbow of tomatoes from the Garden from Scratch below. Line them up according to colour, and plant in a rainbow, or in alternating colours.

Speaking of multi-coloured fruits, there’s a world of beautifully-coloured peas out there just waiting to liven up your potager.

Image by Rebsie Fairholm

‘Lancashire Lad’ is a purple-podded pea which has incredible maroon flowers and striking pods, although the peas remain green.

Image by Rebsie Fairholm

‘Spring Blush’ is a modest, delicately beautiful pea.

Image by Rebsie Fairholm

These red-podded peas, bred by Rebsie Fairholm, are such a fabulous lipstick-red colour.

And Rebsie has also bred these fantastic ‘Luna Trick’ yellow-podded peas. What a clever woman.

These yard long asaparagus red noodle beans from Jungle Seeds would make a fantastic follow-on from those red-podded peas, resembling killer red nail varnish.

‘Purple Queen‘ climbing French beans would look beautiful growing above ‘Sonesta‘ dwarf French beans, below.

Image by Claire Sutton

But it is these painfully beautiful Borlotti beans which steal the show in any potager. Their flecked pods are magnificent, and the beans taste pretty marvellous as well.

So, those are the most stunning crops you can grow in your potager. What other beautiful vegetables do you grow?