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The Garden House (Devon, England)

The destinations are beginning to blur but looking at the tour guide booklet, I see that we are now in Plymouth. Today, we visited two gardens designed by Keith Wiley.  The first is The Garden House , where Wiley worked as Head Gardener for 25 years (from 1978-2003). The 10-acre estate was purchased in the 1940s by former Eton schoolmaster Lionel Fortescue and his wife Katherine. It was formerly home to the  vicars of Buckland Monachronum. The Fortescue's renovated the gardens and ran a market garden business and raised cattle.  The remains of some of the original buildings in the vicarage still stand in the garden and serve as a romantic backdrop in the Walled Garden - I loved the way they had massed ferns together. Just stunning! Surrounding the walled garden and venturing out away from the house are more naturalistic plantings  - Today, the head gardener is Nick Haworth, who was previously head gardener at Greenway , which we visited earlier.  Keith Wiley lef...
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Ornamental Kale


Ornamental Kale (or Ornamental Cabbage if you prefer) is second only to pansies as a colorful option for winter containers or planting in the ground.  The scientific name is Brassica oleracea. The plant is a member of the mustard family. They can be planted in the fall (from seed or transplants) and when colder temperatures and frosts approach, the color intensifies. They like sunny locations although they will grow in shadier areas, the color may not be as vivid. They also may become leggy if not given enough sun. Although edible, they are not near as tasty as regular cabbages and kale and are grown mainly for decorative purposes.

I've had hit-and-miss experiences growing ornamental kale. Some years they do well, some years not. Colder temperatures are a must as they will bolt in warmer climes. They respond well to fertilizer although I confess I usually forget to fertilize them. They do not like extreme wet conditions and are especially vulnerable to freezing rain, which leaves them puny and limp. If freezing rain is predicted, cover the plants if you can until the danger has past.




Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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  1. JessJanuary 15, 2012 at 10:06 AM

    Beautiful, Phillip!! You've inspired me to think about keeping potted plants in the winter as well. Normally I just do veggies or flowers in the Spring/Summer.

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  2. EveJanuary 15, 2012 at 11:25 AM

    They are beautiful Phillip. A plant I will surely experiment with more.

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  3. AnonymousJanuary 15, 2012 at 12:19 PM

    I bought a couple of 6 packs on close out and put them on the patio table & got home late from work a couple of days and the next time I came home during light, they were in fairly sad shaped. I put them in a pan of water & revived them and planted just before my knee surgery. I couldn't cover them during the freeze and thought they had died. Now with the warmer spell they look fairly good, even through the snow we had Thursday. I still around half an inch Friday when I started to work. Mary

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  4. CarolJanuary 15, 2012 at 2:30 PM

    Started to pick some up at Lowe's yesterday for a couple planters in front of the house and now I wish I had! Might have to go back now and get some yours look so good! Carol

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  5. Lisa at GreenbowJanuary 15, 2012 at 5:26 PM

    I usually don't mess with them as they don't stand up to our winters for long. I do like them though. Too bad I didn't plant them this year as they would have lasted untilnow. We just went into the deep freeze.

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  6. DarlaJanuary 16, 2012 at 4:46 AM

    I love them and have a dozen or more scattered around with the pansies...

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  7. scottweberpdxJanuary 16, 2012 at 2:48 PM

    I've also had a few disappoint years with kale...but boy, when they are happy they are stunning!

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  8. debsgardenJanuary 17, 2012 at 7:30 PM

    Heavy rain this evening; I think my ornamental cabbage, as well as a few other plants I have, are not going to be happy. Yours are beautiful! If it were somewhat cooler, we would be having a blizzard!

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  9. RohrerbotJanuary 22, 2012 at 10:16 AM

    I just took a shot of this yesterday and couldn't figure out what it was....but your post helped clarify. Thank you. This plant really has nice color.

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  10. LayaneeJanuary 23, 2012 at 1:04 PM

    Yours look good enough to eat. Luscious!

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  11. JanJanuary 24, 2012 at 4:26 PM

    Lovely, Phillip. This is the first year I planted these, and I am so pleased with how well they have done.
    These will definitely be a repeat.

    Jan
    Always Growing

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  12. Pool Pump CoversFebruary 3, 2012 at 7:08 AM

    Pretty! It looks like a pretty flower. I would really love to plant one of these but it is always a failure. Thank for the great and informative post though.

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