Ornamental cabbage

Ornamental cabbage and kale (Brassica oleracea) are a feature of the National Botanical Garden of Georgia in Tbilisi.

Ornamental cabbages are native to western Europe and, although their flowers are insignificant, their leaves are broad and colourful. They have large rosettes with flat leaves. Kale has curly leaves. The colours range from green to white, pink, rose, red, and purple.

They are easy to grow requiring low maintenance. In botanical gardens they are grown mainly for foliage plants to add to the ground cover or as border plants, rather than as vegetables. This means that the shape and colour of the leaves are more important than the taste and flavour.

Brassica oleracea are in the same species as Brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, and kohlrabi.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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