The most common chillies are annuals. They die down with the cold weather, then you plant them again in spring. But 'perennial' chillies like 'Lipstick' grow right through winter, and keep growing bigger and taller, and give you more chillies for years.

Although when I say 'grow' in a frosty climate like ours, I mean 'survive winter in a sheltered spot' like a courtyard, or next to a sunny wall. Chillies need at least three hours of sunlight a day, and well drained, fertile soil too. They are the perfect pot plant for a sunny patio. They love heat and will tolerate the dry, as long as you tend them once a week or so.

Lipstick chillies, the most readily available perennial chilli, will grow up to a metre and a half high, though once they are over a metre you need to stake them - the stems can break in the wind. But the bushes respond obediently to pruning and are covered in gaudy red fruit that are both long and fat and ridiculously ornamental for about nine months of the year, or all year in frost-free areas.

This ornamental quality is useful, as even the most ardent chilli lover can't eat the produce of a single vast Lipstick chilli bush. We grow ours primarily because they look stunning on an otherwise dry bank outside the back door. Wallabies don't eat them - or not more than once - but birds will take a peck or two to get at the seeds, which means you get the beauty of both birds and fruit.

In very cold areas, try growing chillies in a deep terracotta or concrete pot and plant them about 30cm below the top. Even if the top is frosted off, the lower branches will be protected.

The other perennial chilli we grow is the bell pepper. Bell peppers though look even more gorgeous on the bush than Lipstick chillies. They grow into a delightful, naturally neat small bush, hung with bell-shaped chillies that turn from green to pale green, yellow and then bright red, and will hang on the bush for months. A branch or two hung with bring red bells in a vase is a delight.

If you adore food that needs a fire extinguisher, there are hundreds of varieties of chilli to try, with varying heat levels and colours from reds, orange, green, purple and yellow. Small fruited varieties are best for drying. Thread chillies on a string or thick cotton (wear latex gloves!) and hang up to dry. They look lovely as garlands above a stove, where you can pick them off as needed, or added to strings of garlic for extra colour.

Chillies can also be stored in a glass jar or ground to chilli powder and stored in a dry dark place but once ground they quickly lose a lot of oomph. But don't forget to wear gloves, and do not touch your eyes, nose or any sensitive area when you have been threading or cutting chilies, or you may discover why - and how - chillies were once used as an ancient South American method of torture.

Chillies can be harvested at any stage of their growth, but the riper they are, the sweeter or hotter they'll be and the longer they'll last when dried. A truly ripe chilli will change colour, from green to red, orange, purple etc. depending on which chilli you are growing. The skin becomes thinner as chillies mature. If you eat too many - or find a supposed mild chilli sears your mouth, try cold milk rather than water, or even better, ice-cream. And no, removing the seeds from chillies won't reduce their hotness, though it will stop the seeds from getting stuck in your teeth.

For a household that doesn't often eat spicy food, we go through a surprisingly large number of chillies. Chilli is a flavour enhancer, which is why you'll find it listed in the ingredients of not-at-all-hot packaged foods. A tiny amount of chilli makes food taste sweeter, saltier and more vivid. I add a tiny amount to soups, stews, even fruit salads, but please do not tell my husband. After 33 years of enjoying my cooking, he still believes he doesn't eat chilli.

If you like food spicy, this is wonderful. If not, reduce the chilli .

Ingredients:

6 ripe sweet oranges

1/4 tsp red chilli, very, very finely chopped, or much more if you like the heat

2 teaspoons Cointreau

2 teaspoons caster sugar

Peel the oranges, making sure all pith is removed. Cut them into segments, peeling away all membrane. Dissolve the sugar in the Cointreau. Combine the chilli, liqueur and oranges and leave to marinate and chill for at least two hours. Serve chilled.

To show vampires you are really serious.

Separate the garlic into cloves, but don't peel them. Use a threaded needle to alternate them on thick cotton with bright red or green chillies. Leave in the sun to dry for a couple of days, taking them inside when it is cool, dark or damp. Hang in a well ventilated place when you are not wearing them.

Then when you're sick of garlic and chilli as a fashion item, eat them.