Comments on: Ornamental Cabbage – Cheap and Tacky?

By: Gardening crash-test dummy

Gardening crash-test dummy — Fri, 27 Jan 2006 01:23:14 +0000

I am so into kale at the moment. I saw them at a garden wedding I went to late last year and was suddenly inspired when I saw that the owner of the garden had let them go to seed. The were like a flourescent version of Statice and were so appealling.

Well done Susan – good bargain hunting.

By: Nelumbo

Nelumbo — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 05:01:02 +0000

I noticed these in the Atlanta Botanical Garden this winter- didn’t realize they were so hardy!

By: Judith

Judith — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 22:15:52 +0000

I used to think of ornamental cabbages as being tacky until I travelled one winter in England and saw them displayed in windowboxes & little gardens–I fell in love w/them and came home to try them out. The colors are vibrant & I like that. They did well when the winters were mild, but it seems we, in zone 5a, haven’t had a mild enough winter in a few yrs. Yours look great! — Me too, looking forward to reading about the lecture…

By: Rachel

Rachel — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 20:54:07 +0000

I think they are lovely and you got a great bargain!!

By: Heather

Heather — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 00:28:28 +0000

I like them potted like that. Totally share your, uh, lack of enthusiasm for them as a “filler” plant. They’re quite sculptural when they’re a bit larger. Though I don’t like them so much when the stalks get long and they start to look gangly.

By: Alice

Alice — Sun, 22 Jan 2006 21:05:15 +0000

The colours in the ornamental cabbages or kale are stunning. We don’t see them used that often here as they need to cold to enhance the colour. I have grown them, although it’s been a race to see if they would reach any sort of maturity before the grubs ate them competely. I first saw them in England and they really brightened up a winter garden.

Looking forward to reading more about the lecture you went to.