Don’t eat the KALE!

Sun Valley is offering a year round ornamental kale crop.  Although, we kind of like to be fancy and call it by its genus “brassica,” and many folks also call it “cabbage.”  Ornamental kale’s popularity has been steadily growing in the floral industry for several years now, and at Sun Valley we have been planting larger and larger crops to supply demand.  We are currently offering brassica as a year round item, with perhaps a week gap as the farm production moves from our Oxnard farm, north to Arcata in June. 

Brassica growing at our Oxnard Farm

As you would expect, our kale is in the same scientific class as many edible crops.  It is in the mustard family, and is a very close relative to cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and Brussels sprouts(yuck!).  Just to get this information up front, no matter how tasty our Brassica looks, it is not for human or animal consumption…much the way I see Brussels sprouts.

Brassica growing at our Arcata Farm

Being at events where we have arrangements and bouquets featuring kale, it almost always manages to steal the show from the lilies, tulips and iris Sun Valley is so well known for.  Last month we had a beautiful new lily at a trade show, we had arranged the lilies with some brassica stems to add girth. We ended up spending the day looking on, as interested people literally pushed the lily petals aside to get a closer look at the brassica.

Two bouquets from the "Cabbage Patch" collection, by Sun Pacific Bouquet.

Brassica’s current widespread popularity can be attributed to its natural, “Farmer’s Market” type feel. People are enjoying the warm earthy feel of brassica. Simple arrangements that look like the elements were gathered from a back yard garden or a roadside stand are really hot right now.  Also, it being summer, the opportunity to think “Outside the Flower Shop” is really great.  Finding non-traditional botanicals in the woods, on the side of the highway or on the edge of a pasture frees the floral design palette.

We recently had world class floral designer Pieter Landman on the farm for a film project we are producing.  Even with all the resources, flowers and greens of Sun Valley at his disposal, he walked into the studio with a handful of interesting grasses he has spotted in a neighbor’s unkempt yard.

Integrating a bit of the truly natural world in arrangements is a European touch; however, it seems very American, very “Do It Yourself” and very homestead.  Any of our California Grown Ornamental Kale varieties can also fit this bill, and the size and color make it the best of both worlds.  A “back to the land” element, yet with bulk, lovely color, and intense texture of a more upscale botanical.

Some Brassica options

Traditional brassica is thought of as a winter crop, since the beautiful coloration in the heads comes with cold temperatures.  This leaves brassica off most people’s radar for the hot months of summer. However, we move the crop to our Arcata farm for summer, where our average high temp for summer is 61 degrees Fahrenheit.  No, that is not a typo. This is a chilly place to live, which is perfect for brassica to color up…and for year-round soil grown tulips!  It is also great for not sweating in summer. 

 Here is one of our beautiful "Resource Pages" for inspiration and education, we have created these for many of our crops, see the full collection.

For some nice design ideas, check out this blog post from DesignSponge.

This summer have some fun with brassica, straight out of our garden.