ornamental kale – enclos*ure

Almost every German city and town puts on an elaborate Christmas market during the Advent season.

The Stuttgart market — held since at least 1692 — is an excellent one. It made The Telegraph’s top 10 list this year.

As I walked around it on Thursday, taking these snapshots with my phone, I wished that I could also capture its wonderful smells: bread and pastry, sausage, and hot spiced wine (Glühwein).

Click on any thumbnail below to scroll through all my (larger) photos and captions.

Looking down Königstraße, a 1.2 km. pedestrian shopping avenue, which begins at the main train station.

Two parallel rows of pollarded plane trees are a feature of the avenue.

A Christmas tree seller.

The trees set in half-log stands.

The Stuttgart Christmas Market, 2015, enclos*ure

I bought one of these little trees and carried it home via U-bahn and bus.

The seller was also carving decorative items on the spot.

In this area, most of the stands were selling flowers and greenery.

A wreath seller.

Cut long-stem amaryllis flowers.

Boxes of small apples for decoration.

Ornamental kale.

I meant to buy a pot of two of these amaryllis, but the seller had closed by the time I walked back that way — which is just as well; I could never have carried them and the little tree. A good reason to go back.

Elaborately and expertly decorated roofs are a feature of the stands at Schillerplatz and Marktplatz.

What’s better than an early afternoon glühwein or, in my case, hot spiced wine with honey mead.

This stand sells products from wild boar meat.

At Schillerplatz, in front of the Old Palace.

No, that’s her index finger.

A hat seller.

Christmas stollen.

Everyone wants a mid-afternoon Berliner Pfannkuchen.

Schillerplatz.

At Schlossplatz or Palace Square, there was a miniature train and model city. The ice rink is in the background.

Pretty much a typical southern German small town.

On the same day that I walked by the White House, I visited the Smithsonian Institution’s Heirloom Garden at the American History Museum and its Butterfly Garden beside the Natural History Museum to see how they look in early spring.

In both, the SI gardeners were putting forward Brassicas — ornamental kale, cabbage, and red mustard.

In the American History Museum entrance planter, yellow predominates, not from forsythia, but from the flowers of ornamental kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala) and red mustard (Brassica juncea). Here’s the link to how it was planted last summer.

Now it’s filled with dusty miller, violas, and two Brassicas. I did not see any labels, but I’m pretty sure that the lacy white one on the sides is B. oleracea ‘Peacock White’ and the other one with light purple/light green leaves in the center is B. juncea ‘Red (or Ruby) Streaks,’ a mustard mizuna.

The museum’s big blue pots are also planted in purple kale (I think it may be B. oleracea ‘Peacock Red’) and violas. (You can click on any photo to enlarge it.)

At the Mall entrance to the Butterfly Garden, below, various Brassicas stood out, along with yellow tulips and violas.

These photos show ruffled dark purple B. oleracea ‘Redbor,’ as well as (I think) ‘Garnet Giant’ red mustard (in the center above) and Johnnie jump-up violas. The lacy light-purple/light-green plant is B. juncea ‘Red (or Ruby) Streaks.’

I think the tall, dark blue-green kale in the foreground below is dinosaur kale, maybe ‘Lacinato’ or ‘Cavalo Nero.’ Unfortunately, it was not labeled.

Below are ‘White Peacock’ kale.

I didn’t find a label for the very dark purple kale below. They may be ‘Redbors’ that are just more mature and darker than the other specimens.

The cabbages in the front of the bed below are ‘Red Drumhead,’ with a row of dinosaur kale behind them.

At the entrance are more dinosaur kale. Here’s the link to what they looked like last summer.

Here and here are some links to growing ornamental kale.

To scroll through larger versions of all the photos above, click on ‘Continue reading’ below and then on the first thumbnail in the gallery.

ADDENDUM: In Paris, in March, I spotted some lovely flower beds on the Champs Elysees planted only with various-colored primroses and regularly interspersed tall flowering ornamental kale (something like B. oleracea ‘Redbor’). Unfortunately, I was on a bus and couldn’t get a picture.

Continue reading “A Brassica moment” →