Color in the patch — and in the pot

Most Alaskan gardeners who surround themselves with color each summer rely heavily on profusely blooming annuals. Even lovers of perennials or shrubs use annuals to fill the gaps that inevitably appear each spring.

New plants are often chosen by virtue of a favorite color, or an unusual form, or simply because they are a pleasure to behold. After the drab palette of winter, those masses of color not only relieve the eye; they brighten the spirit and nurture the soul.

But what of those gardeners who subscribe to the philosophy that gardening should be confined to food production to nurture the body? They choose varieties based on flavor, yield, and economics. Now, I am not denying that those factors are essential to commercial production. It is the home gardener that I challenge. There is no universal law dictating purely practical choices. Flavor and yield will not be significantly reduced by brightening those tidy rows of edibles with a little color.

I have, with all good Alaska gardeners, spent the last two months devouring seed catalogues, convincing myself that I cannot live without more things than I can grow in five seasons, let alone one. In my wanderings, I noticed an increasing number of edibles offered in unusual colors and forms, which I can picture gracing my own herb and vegetable gardens.

Here are some of my findings.

After many shades of green, reds and purples are the next available colors. Probably the most commonly grown is the red cabbage, which is almost too tough for slaw, but cooks nicely, retaining its color, and makes a sweet, mild sauerkraut. One can get purple Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, cauliflower, and mustard greens, and scarlet, red, and "black" kale.

There are also purple beans, asparagus, basil, and sage, red dock, and many red or purple lettuces, in solid colors, bicolors, or speckles.

Some garden edibles can be found in a veritable rainbow of colors.

The aforementioned purple cauliflower, for instance, comes also in a standard white or cream, bright green, and pumpkin orange. Not only would such a colorful medley brighten a garden row, it would enliven a bowl of cream of cauliflower soup, which I typically avoid because of its insipid appearance.

Sage, in addition to green or purple, can be golden, white, or tricolor.

Swiss chard produces stems in pale to hot pink, white, cream, yellows, chartreuse, orange, reds, and purples. Peppers display a similar array of colors, without the pinks and with the addition of a deep chocolate. Bean pods come in every shade of green and yellow, dark purple, and bright red with white streaks. Tomatoes not only abound in reds, oranges, and golds, but can be blushed in chocolate or purple, and striped in any combination of the colors mentioned. Zucchinis proliferate in solids, stripes, and bicolors of cream, and virtually every shade of green and yellow.

I have grown or sampled representatives of nearly all of these groups and have not found the integrity of the flavor compromised by change in color. Only some of the root crops seem affected by the color changes. Carrots, in less carroty colors than red or orange, also taste less carroty. Yellow, white, and cream carrots look and taste more like parsnips. And beets in gold, white, or pink with white rings, taste earthier, especially the white ones, but they all make beautiful pickles.

Having spent many words on color, I now devote a few to form.

Carrots, cucumbers, and zucchini, which are typically elongated, have varieties that produce short round fruit. Conversely, the usually round tomato, beet, and radish can be grown in elongated varieties.

Cylindrical beets are my absolute favorite. They grow mostly above ground, are exceptionally sweet, and after cooking, slip their peels without a fight. Cabbages and cauliflower can both be gotten in interesting conical form, the cabbage being known as "arrowhead," which accurately describes its shape.

Another thought for adding appeal to the edible garden is to use plants which produce edible flowers.

Chives, borage, calendula, bergamot, and nasturtiums come to mind, although there are dozens more. In the garden, they are happy companions to vegetables and other herbs, and, on the plate, they make delicious colorful additions to a tossed salad.

Experimenting with plants of different color or shape can only improve the home gardening experience. The freezer will yet be full, the salad bowl heaped with more color and flavor, and the contents of pot and pantry brighter.

Feeding the eye can likewise feed the stomach.

Hally Truelove is a Master Gardener and Plants Woman who lives and gardens in Wasilla Alaska with her two daughters, a handful of cats, a bunch of bunnies, some guinea pigs, a dog and a frog. Contact her at 376-0909.