1. Kale
The dramatic foliage on ornamental kale makes for a great garden border. Ornamental varieties can be prepared the same way as common Kale.
2. Purple Sage
Varieties vary from green with purple veins to foliage with an almost marbled appearance to full, saturated purple. Sage pairs well with poultry and other meats.
3. Chives
Tall stalks are topped with purple pom-pom shaped blossoms. Enjoy the blooms, then use the chopped stalks later for seasoning.
4. Artichoke
On a recent trip to Palm Springs I spotted artichokes used as a sculptural addition to planters. The unopened edible buds have a dramatic form, and if you allow some to go to flower you'll be rewarded with a vibrant purple bloom.
5. Lavender
An old standby, the tall purple stalks of flowers are beautiful when grown in drifts of color and can be used in tea, to flavor honey, or in baked goods.
(Images via: Shutterstock)
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A lot of people use rainbow chard around here, it's such a beautiful plant. And olive trees!
This year I potted a small variety of eggplant and some habanero peppers for my balcony after noting how pretty their blooms and foliage were last year in my veggie garden.
Get a packet of nasturtium seeds for a dollar. The leaves are great in salad, the flowers are edible and you can save the eventual seeds in brine to use as capers.
Okra is a beautiful plant and very easy to grow. Stands straight upright with a really pretty flower! I grow it every year in the northern Northeast!
Okra gets a bad rap but I found an awesome way to prepare it. Pick pods while small (important or inedible), put on a kabob stick, rub with olive oil and kosher salt. Then throw on the grill (hibachi). Pull off and eat - melts in your mouth and no gooey stuff. Tastes like an entirely different vegetable.
Another great post - though I'd never be able to let artichokes stay long enough to flower.
This was a great post about using flax as an edible ornamental:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/unexpected-container-gardening-1-119631
I have been wanting to do this in my front flower bed that recieves full on morning sun in Houston,TX. I never get real clear answers about how well these do in Zone 9. ANyone had any luck in Texas with these types of gardens?
Just a note, the plant you have labeled as purple sage is not an edible sage. This plant is an ornamental annual salvia species; horminum. Culinary sage is Salvia officinalis and is available with different leaf colors and they all have gorgeous purple spikes of flowers and it is a hardy perennial as well. Sage (Salvia) is a huge family of plants with many popular ornamental varieties and a few are edible so it's important to include the species name:)
Been lazy with my balcony gardening lately. This suggestion just might get me going again. Thanks!
Ohmygosh, so many edibles are beautiful! Blueberry bushes get fire engine red in fall. Melon and squash vines have amazing texture - big, lush, green and wild. Onion and garlic are similar to chives with cool spikey greenery and sometimes flowers, ramps (if you're lucky enough to have a good spot for them) are like lily of the valley, carrot tops have such a cool lacy texture, beets and rhubarb have a cool look as well, strawberries make a great groundcover, rasp/black berries get a cool white flower that rapidly turns to vivid fruit and are usually thick, lush and green plants, mulberries (although big) are on a pretty tree that yields a ton of delicious fruit, pea vines can be tamed adorably with just a few twigs or bamboo supports. I've heard good things about hazelnuts, paw paw and more. If you're going to grow something or you're looking for a plant for a specific place in your garden (and you like to eat fresh things), edibles should always be investigated! There is often a pretty option for your spot.