Sonia Uyterhoeven is Gardener for Public Education. Join her each weekend for home gardening demonstrations on a variety of topics in the Home Gardening Center.

In my blog post last week I discussed combining color and texture in the vegetable garden. This week we will look at some new introductions and some old favorites that are worthy additions to a rainbow garden.

Gardeners who grow beets are familiar with the classic heirloom, Beta vulgaris ‘Chioggia’. It is incredibly sweet and mild when cooked, but once you slice through its red skin, its outstanding feature is revealed: alternating red and white rings. It retains its impressive bull’s eyes even when baked whole. This year growers such as Johnny’s Select Seeds and Parks Seeds are touting an improved version of this Italian classic called ‘Chioggia Guardsmark’.

When we think of butterhead lettuce we generally think of hydroponically grown, buttery-smooth green heads. I grew up on this Boston-type lettuce, and it is still a favorite choice in my family’s household. Some popular green varieties are ‘Buttercrunch’ and ‘Butterking’. The red-tinged heirloom varieties ‘Pirat’ and ‘Yugoslavian Red’ have long been a staple in my garden. This year a heat tolerant red variety called ‘Skyphos’ entered the market. It looks sensational. It is not too late to try both the beet and the lettuce as fast fall crops. read more »

Sonia Uyterhoeven is Gardener for Public Education. Join her each weekend for home gardening demonstrations on a variety of topics in the Home Gardening Center.

Garden writer Sydney Edison studies how great art masters combine color on their canvas and uses those lessons as inspiration for the color combinations in her patio displays. Color in the vegetable garden is equally important. It can transform an ordinary or utilitarian space into a work of art.

Design your vegetable garden with color in mind by paying attention to the color of fruit, flowers, and foliage. A bed of yellow and red peppers can be accentuated by repeating the color with a surrounding edge of marigolds. Scarlet runner beans can climb up vertical structures that will pick up the hot color theme.

Repeating color themes is one of the simplest and most effective ways to both literally and figuratively soup-up your vegetable garden. This can be done with vegetables but also enhanced by colorful herbs and summer annuals that can find their way into a vase on the kitchen table. read more »