We just couldn’t stay away.  They say that the completely un-February like weather we’ve been having lately will disappear for a few days of rain and snow and below 50 degree weather.  But even with that forecast on the horizon we couldn’t help ourselves, we had to go to the garden center to get some ideas and soak ourselves in the fragrance of the greenhouse.  I can never get over that smell of fresh potting soil and sweet blossoms.  There are few things more thereputic than the sound of running water and the smell inside a greenhouse.

While we were perusing their selection of early spring bedding plants we came across the ornamental kale, in which my daughter was immensely interested.

As she plucked a few leaves off and immediately tried to shove them in her mouth I explained that this was ornamental kale, and that we weren’t going to eat this stuff today.  Although it’s technically edible, it’s not as tasty as the stuff we buy in the grocery store.  She looked at me a little confused {as did the few folks around me as I explained kale to a 9 month old}, and we went along softly touching the ruffled texture of their leaves without popping them in our mouths.

It’s no secret the flowering plants are show stoppers in the garden.  Big and colorful blooms can be eye-catching,  sweet smelling additions to a garden, but I often prefer the understated beauty of foliage plants.  Although they aren’t as flashy as blooming plants, they can provide texture and unity to planting beds.  I like to think of them as the backup singers without whose shoo bop bops the song of my landscape wouldn’t be complete.

The supporting foliage of ornamental kale will dwindle once the weather heats up around late May, but here’s a few perennial foliage plants that can provide a beautiful backdrop for both perennial and annual blossoms.