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Growing Rainbows
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Brightly coloured vegetables give the kitchengarden
a boost and look just as good in the flower bed
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The vegetable garden is getting a facelift. No longer
merely a utilitarian place, colourful new varieties and creative
interplanting of colours and textures create a feast for the eyes
as well as the table. And, combining flowers and vegetables not
only enhances the colours of the vegetables, but also attracts
bees for pollination.
I love the brightly coloured vegetables in my garden--red, yellow,
orange and pink chard stems glowing behind purple bean plants
with their lavender flowers; purple-red Brussels sprouts among
frilly green or red lettuces; purple and lime green cauliflowers
in a bed of orange and yellow marigolds. Harvesting is a visual
delight as I fill my basket with chartreuse eggplants, orange
beets, red-and-yellow-striped tomatoes, bur-gundy okra, and red
and blue potatoes.
 Brightly coloured vegetables aren't mere beauty
accents--they also have health- enhancing properties. There is
usually a direct correlation between vivid colours in vegetables
and greater amounts of vitamins and phytochemicals (plant chemicals).
For example, blue potatoes contain anthocyanidins, a phytochemical
not found in white potatoes. Most phytochemicals are antioxidants
that help protect against cancer, cardiovascular disease, premature
aging and age-related blindness; they may also improve the functioning
of the immune system.
This unprecedented diversity makes growing and cooking an adventure,
but to enjoy the decorative and healthful benefits of these unusual
varieties, you'll have to grow your own plants from seed; garden
centres don't sell the seedlings.
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