Ornamental Vegetables for Fall

Vegetables

Mar 28

Written By Steven Biggs

By Steven Biggs

Vegetable Crops That Look Great in the Fall

As I write this, it’s spring. But I’m picturing my fall garden.

I was just scouting out the spot where my Swiss chard will go this year.

I always fit in chard close to my kitchen window.

An Ornamental Edible

In the garden outside my kitchen window I weave together the ornamental and the edible. I especially treasure edible plants with ornamental appeal.

And that’s where chard fits in.

Swiss chard paints this part of my garden in yellows, reds, pink, and orange.

As cool, grey fall weather arrives, Swiss chard is a bright spot in a fading garden.

Summer-Long Production

Leafy greens like lettuce, spinach, and arugula come and go with summer heat.

They bolt
They get leathery
They get bitter

But Swiss chard sails through the heat with a prodigious output of tender leaves.

A Long-Lasting Edible

Swiss chard paints this part of my garden in yellows, reds, pink, and orange.

As cool, grey fall weather arrives, Swiss chard is a bright spot in a fading garden.

It shines.

When frost renders swathes of the garden a wilted green-brown, chard still shines. The bright leaves bow to the frost, then spring back up as sunshine warms them.

It perseveres until a hard freeze.

Put Chard Where You Can See it in the Fall

I’m picturing the spot where my chard will go, and making sure it’s somewhere I can enjoy looking at it from my kitchen window through the fall.

More Ornamental Vegetables for the Fall Garden

Cardoon is another ornamental vegetable that looks great in the fall. Find out more about cardoon.

Artichokes hold up nicely in fall weather. Find out how to grow artichoke.

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More Vegetable Gardening Ideas

About the Author – Steven Biggs

Bored of rows? Try a patchwork of lettuce. A focal point of edible flowers. A perennial bed edged with edible plants. When it comes to irresistible food gardens, horticulturist Steven Biggs sees the whole yard as a canvas—with a palette of veg, fruit, herbs, and edible flowers. With over 25 years in the horticulture sector, he’s worked as a college instructor, in greenhouse and nursery production, plant propagation, biological controls, and horticultural supplies. But his passion is to help people get creative with their home gardens. To think outside the box. To tailor the garden to what they love. That might be intrigue, form, texture, unusual ingredients, or a long harvest window. Maybe it’s as a creative outlet. If he’s not in his garden, you’ll catch him recording his award-winning Food Garden Life podcast, writing gardening books and articles, and helping home gardeners think outside the box in one of his online classes.

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