Although cranberries have quite specific requirements in terms of conditions, they are actually relatively simple to grow yourself, so you can impress dinner guests with homegrown cranberry sauce on y

We dig into the surprising journeys and quirky facts behind the crops that star in our festive feasts

Rosie Irving celebrates an easy-going shrub that gives so much for so little effort

Its twinkling seeds bejewel festive feasts, but there’s much more to the pomegranate than meets the eye, discovers Harry Pearson

Celebrated in the loveliest of carols, holly warms hearts anew each winter, but there’s more to the spiky gem than merely Christmas cheer, writes Deborah Nicholls-Lee

This time of year represents big business–and exhaustion–for the producers of festive fare, from crackers to hellebores to ham. Jane Wheatley visits six stalwarts who are flat out right now