The delicious sweet fruit of Strawberries are top the list for the food gardener.

• They’re true multipurpose plants which double the benefits of your landscape without doubling the size of your garden or the work involved.
• As a groundcover, they can be planted in those partially-shaded spots in your garden, offering a tasty feast at the same time as protecting your soil.
• Strawberries are rich in vitamins and minerals. They pack a punch when it comes to boosting the immune system, fighting disease and restoring health. And remember that red (and blue) berries are believed to be cancer-fighting fruits. Strawberry juice may be used to soothe sunburn and skin blemishes and can whiten teeth and tone gums.
• The leaves are rich in iron and vitamin C and make an excellent tea which can also be used to treat diarrhoea, kidney problems, throat infections, digestive upsets and relieve gout.
• Strawberries fit well into weight-control programmes as they have very few calories.
• All things considered, they make an excellent choice as a garden plant and they’re easy to grow if you follow a few simple guidelines – full sun (although they also cope in dappled light) and richly mulched, well-drained soil.

The Berry Good News is that Mayford has now released the first Strawberry seeds in South Africa. Pop down to your closest GardenShop and get your packet of strawberry seeds now and you will soon be able to enjoy these sweet beauties from your own garden.