The Star: June 06, 2019

The Star Thursday June 6 2019
26
GARDENING
Ornamental kale for colour through winter
• By Henri Ham
news online at www.star.kiwi
FLOWER GARDENS tend to
look a little dull at this time of the
year.
But there are some plants that
thrive once your summer annuals
pass their best. Ornamental kale
– an annual grown for its pretty
waved leaves and bright winter
colours – is the perfect plant to
insert some liveliness into your
garden right now.
Ornamental kale grows in
large, low rosettes, like prizes in
your garden. It’s a compact plant
that closely resembles a cabbage.
While you can eat it, it’s mostly
grown for its colourful leaves. But
if you’re really keen on tasting it,
you’ll find ornamental kale has a
very bitter taste.
What I like about this
type of kale is that it’s bold,
striking and, (best of all)
requires little care in your garden.
And, once established this fun
kale can deliver a good few
months of colour to your winter
garden.
There are a variety of
ornamental kales around. Most
have symmetrical green outer
leaves and purple rosey or creamy
white centres. Some have wider
cabbage-like leaves, others tight
frilly edges – similar to endive
lettuce.
The most popular type is
THE WINTER blues in our
house are not the sort to get
you down.
To be precise, they’re blue
violas, light blue lobelias,
lavender primulas and moody
blues pansies. And they’re all
excellent ways to inject some
bright colour into your winter
garden.
If your garden is looking a
little bland after your summer
flowers have dried up, now is
the time to plant these winter
annuals. And if you’re not
feeling so ‘blue’, many of these
pretty flowers also come in
shades of pinks, purples, whites
and yellows as well.
For the sunnier areas of your
garden, look to antirrhinum
pigeon kale. It comes in both
purple and white varieties
and has a true rosette
appearance.
Ideal for garden pots,
borders and edging, you
might have seen ornamental
kale before in large beds of town
gardens or in the middle of traffic
islands.
dwarf, viscaria, nemesia and lobelia
as good starting points for
adding colour. They suit borders,
mass planting or simply
planted in between your roses.
And for those slightly shadier
spots, polyanthus, primulas
and cineraria dwarf can all help
add some bursts of colour.
But if you’re not sure where
to start, violas are a staple of any
winter garden. You’ll find these
cute little flowers in shades of
oranges to yellow, dark blues,
burgundy and white.
If you’re wanting something
new, try sorbet blue viola. It’s
a cute little white and violet
coloured flower, still featuring
the tiny yellow face that many
violas often have.
When you plant ornamental
kale seedlings on mass (about
20cm apart) they develop a lovely
packed-in feel – really carpeting
a garden.
Once you’ve got your seedlings,
find a sunny well-drained spot in
your garden.
Dig holes around 5cm deep,
20cm apart and gently place the
CONTRAST: White and
violet viola.
Plant your viola seedlings
10cm apart, in full sun with
well-drained soil. They’ll flower
from right now until spring,
CARPET-LIKE:
The more sun
your kale gets
the brighter
the colours
will be.
seedlings in. Lightly massage the
root systems to loosen them
up.
If you’re not sure what to plant
alongside your kale, ornamental
grasses (carex) are an ideal easycare
companion.
The more sun your kale gets,
the brighter colours you’ll be
rewarded with.
Violas are a cold weather staple – plant now
growing to around 15cm high.
Give them a good initial watering
and feed of general fertiliser.
Once they’ve got going, they
won’t need much watering
through the cooler months – the
perk of a winter garden.
In around four to six weeks,
you’ll start to see a splash of
colour pop up. Just remember
to pick off the dead heads to
encourage them to flower, and
you’ll get to enjoy your colourful
winter garden for many
months ahead.
And, if you’re a hanging
basket enthusiast, combine your
violas with some cascading
lobelia and hang it near
your front door to add some
welcoming colour to your home.
But don’t think about planting
them out too early.
Ornamental kale is a true
winter plant that needs the cooler
night temperatures to thrive.
Once planted, give an initial
feed of liquid fertiliser. But after
this, just stick to water.
Too much fertiliser can cause
the plant to grow an elongated
stem under the rosette, which will
detract from its pretty, compact
appearance.
In around six weeks you’ll start
to see colourful kale developing
in your garden beds.
Happy gardening.
Tick off
yourproperty
checklist
OneRoof makes house hunting easier with in-depth
data on local schools, commute times, recent sales
data, suburb information and much more.
Start your property search at oneroof.co.nz
Buying. Selling.
Renting. Investing.