Ornamental Vegetables
Vegetables aren’t just good to eat, some of them can spice up your landscape as well.
Many leafy vegetables have colorful foliage. ‘Bright Lights’ Swiss chard and purple cabbage can make colorful additions to your garden during the winter months. Bronze fennel, ‘Red Giant’ mustards, and several kinds of lettuce are also lovely (not to mention tasty). For interest and great flavor, try dinosaur or Tuscan kale with its knobby leaves.
Other plants have attractive or unusual fruit, like Romanesco broccoli plants, which have bizarre, geometric heads.
And some vegetables are grown solely for their looks! If you have not seen ornamental kale, check out local garden centers in the fall. Also called flowering cabbage, these cool-season plants bring unique color to your flower beds. And while ornamental kale is edible, strictly speaking, they’re very bitter and are best just used as a garnish instead.
Keep all of your ornamental vegetables well watered and fertilized, and in a sunny location. Most of these plants should be planted in the cool season, but in warmer months, you can plant peppers, Chinese red beans, and colorful basils.
Also on Gardening Solutions
- Add a Thrilling Porch Planter for Fall
- Basil
- Cabbage
- Cardoon
- Kale
- Ornamental Gourds
- Ornamental Peppers
- Peppers
- Swiss Chard