No table setting is perfect for spring.

It is as recognizable as Spode’s Christmas dishes, as popular as Blue Willow porcelain, and as collectible as Depression glass: cabbage and lettuce products have been adding luster to southern dining tables for decades. Oops, it is a staple food in this part of the world, and we even have our own cabbage-shaped ceramic collection in Dillards! (Buy: Cabbage Bowl, $42; dillards.com).

But Sotheby’s porcelain and ceramics expert Suzanne Harrison said in a 2013 Wall Street Journal article that the origins of vegetarian dishes span the entire pond (and can be traced back to further history): “The naturalistic forms of pottery and Porcelain tableware, for example, because fruits and vegetables were widely produced in Britain and Europe throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.” However, it was a potter closer to home that made this leafy pottery so popular in the United States in the 1960s.

Around the same time Lilly Pulitzer poured juice on her dress and was inspired to create her famous line of brightly patterned dresses, a Palm Beach celebrity was making something equally iconic .

As a descendant of the people who originally settled in the area, artist Dodie Thayer used her collection of handmade lettuce and cabbage-shaped pottery to open up her place in Florida folklore. Each piece took the self-taught artist about two weeks to create and is a favorite among wealthy people, including Brooke Astor, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, and even the Duchess of Windsor. Although Thayer passed away in 2018 at the age of 91, you can still find her works on sites such as 1stdibs.com and Chairish, although they will not be cheap-the Thayer pottery collection from the Mario Buatta estate has sold 107 pieces It was auctioned for $60,000 last year. The collaboration with Tory Burch was first launched in 2013, featuring vibrant green, petal pink and cream Thayer classic styles, which can still be found on toryburch.com. These works start at a relatively more reasonable $78.

There are other places where you can buy the exterior. Since 1884, Portuguese potter Bordallo Pinheiro has been making pottery in the shape of recognizable cabbage and lettuce, and it is still a popular choice. They are also easy to find, even in large stores such as Bed Bath & Beyond: get a set of four 6-inch bowls, a set of beige dinner plates, and even a cabbage salad bowl in the iconic green. Yuan crowd. (Buy: 4 bowl set, 80 US dollars; 4 dinner plate set, 80 US dollars; cabbage salad bowl, 105 US dollars; bedbathbeyond.com)

Finally, if you like the thrill of hunting, you can bet that you can find cabbage and lettuce products in local antique shops, thrift stores, and real estate sales. But no matter where you buy it, there is no denying that luxurious, leafy porcelain will always be fashionable-an investment worth heirloom that will enhance your spring table in the next few years.

Watch: Southerners like Blue Willow China