Specialty Gardening: How are you using food plants in your cottage garden?, 1 by sempervirens

sempervirens wrote:
PrairieGirl,
Thanks for the garden compliment(also thanks to gemini sage), and yes I had the ornamental wicker balls on top of bamboo suppoort sticks- notice I said had, my difficult neighbor removed them again. I'll wait until next year to replace them. As for effortless and unaffected (so kind of you) my garden is planned and overthought and plants are continually moved. I frequently rip out whole areas and refine the plantings. Most of the really good combinations are happy accidents. Your photo of thyme and phlox in front of the beautiful rock wall is lovely and not overthought.

greenjay,
It is the bronze and green fennel that attract swallowtail butterflys. It's a host plant they use to lay eggs on. The Kale is in the cole, cabbage family, so it's the dreaded cabbage white butterflys they attract as well as aphids.
hey jude,
The kale likes cool weather and tastes sweetest after a frost. The1st crop should be planted 3-4 weeks before the last expected frost. I have them all summer(and through the winter) and they readily self sow (they even self sow in the cracks in the hot driveway asphalt). I haven't actually planted any for 5 or 6 years but do leave on the seed pods, they are quite ornamental but will need to be staked at this point. When the plant is past peak cut the whole plant down to a 3 or 4 inch piece of thick woody stem, incise an X on the top of the stem and you'll rejuvenate the plant. You can reseed in the fall. I have never seen the walking kale, you'll have to post a photo.