Brassica provide us with many vegetables for our kitchen but did you know as florists we use  Brassica in floristry?

This year we have grown from seed in Feburary a variety of ornamental kale called 'Crane Red', the `flowers' are actually the central coloured leaves in the leafy rosette of the plant; and these last for 2 weeks or more when cut for the vase.   In the garden the kale are flowering for 2 to 3 months over the winter period when little other colour is in the garden.   The plants are fairly easy to grow; you just have to keep the caterpillars off them at the start  (March / April); and then it is generally only the outer leaves that are affected.  Other colours are available being creamy white, pinkish mauve and some with variegated green and white leaves.

What do you reckon; do you like them?