Budding thoughts: A flowering veggie for color
You may have noticed beautiful showy plants in neighborhood gardens that look something like cabbage. Indeed, that is what they are.
An ornamental type of cabbage called flowering cabbage or flowering kale, they are fast becoming a staple of the late season garden.
While the names are used interchangeably, the plants with the more fringed, frilly or cut edges are kale, while those with the smoother edges are cabbage. These plants are also known as floral kale, decorative kale, ornamental-leaved kale and ornamental cabbage.
In addition to the variety in leaf form, what makes these plants so desirable is their color range. Inner leaves are pink, magenta, rose, white, cream or a very light yellow, blended into a background of outer leaves in any combination of solid blue, gray, green or bronze.
Their appeal increases when one realizes that the color intensifies with the frost. Like the trees around them, cold temperatures cause chlorophyll to withdraw from the leaves, increasing the intensity of other usually subdued pigments.
If grown from seed in the home garden, they must be planted early to be proper size by late season. The tricky part is that, like their vegetable brethren, heat tends to make the plants bolt. Thus, most gardeners prefer purchasing the plants full-grown from the local garden center when they can also be chosen for their spectacular color.
Generally, these Mediterranean plants grow about a foot or more across and approximately 15 to 24 inches high. They can be planted in full sun to part , and are not fussy about soil conditions.
A versatile plant, use flowering cabbage and kale in window boxes, the border or massed in groups of three to five plants for a dramatic splash of late season color. Combine them with any late season flower, including pansies, mums, alyssum or asters. Potted, use them indoors in a cool place as part of a table arrangement. The colorful leaves are striking in lieu of greens in floral arrangements.
There is some debate as to whether the plant can be eaten. While some maintain that consumption causes diarrhea and vomiting in children, others feel that the leaves are harmless and can be eaten, either cooked or raw. Generally, though, they are considered distasteful. Even so, leaves of these plants make a beautiful garnish for fall platters. This fall, brighten your garden while growing your own seasonal table decorations.