Whether grown for their leaves, or their roots, this family offers some of the brightest and most interesting colour on our plates.   Beetroot can be beetroot red, white, golden, or even have multi-coloured rings.   The multi-coloured varieties of chard wouldn't be out of place in a flower garden.

All beets derive from the wild Sea Beet, found around the Mediterranean and the western end of Asia.   Red and white beets were known in Sicily around 1000 BCE, and varieties with swollen roots developed in Europe in the Middle Ages.   The ancient Greeks were cultivating chard for its leaves aroound 400 BCE.

Take a little care, and beet are almost trouble free as well - I have found them very reliable indeed in my plots.   Wish I could say the same about spinach!