KALE AND FLOWER KALE: ORNAMENTAL FOOD PLANTS

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In the fall, kale can serve as a mild-colored background for a bright display of asters and chrysanthemums ... or its own flashier relative, flower kale. In spring, it will look good as a decorative companion for flowering bulbs (such as tall snowdrop, crocus, star-of-the-snow, daffodil, and hyacinth), as well as for early-blooming shrubs (including cornelian cherry, winter jasmine, forsythia, star magnolia, and quince). You can also plant kale around the base of deciduous trees that hold their fruit in winter or bloom in early spring (some crab apples do both), or place them in front of evergreens as a lighter-shaded contrast to the conifers' deep blues and greens.

A HEALTHFUL HARVEST

Chopped curly kale leaves can be used as a garnish for vegetable platters or mixed salads. And, as a more substantial food in its own right, the versatile vegetable can be served uncooked, steamed, stewed, creamed, baked ... or even stir-fried.

The leaves aren't the only edible part of this wonder plant, either. Young kale flowers can be eaten raw or cooked for an additional dining treat. And remember, when you include this Brassica in your menu, you'll be adding impressive amounts of iron and vitamins!

A WEALTH OF VARIETIES

There are many fine varieties of kale to choose from. Dwarf Blue Scotch (also called Dwarf Blue Curled Vates) is a beautiful cold-hardy plant with tasty, deep blue gray leaves. Green Curled Scotch looks similar except that its gray green color isn't quite as interesting (in my opinion) ... and the plant is somewhat less cold-hardy than Dwarf Blue.

The taller varieties — including Pentland Brigg, Siberian, Westland ,Winter and Tall Green Curled — have a more open growth habit than the dwarf kale species. These will reach 2 feet or more in height and form longstemmed, loose rosettes of gray green leaves. I've found that Pentland Brigg has the best cold-hardiness, but Westland Winter (whose leaves are also especially mild and tender) is the most attractive in fact, it's the only tall variety really recommended for oriental use. As the nondwarf plants lengthen during the winter, though, they can become awkward-looking and will sometimes even fallover.

Finally, two European hybrids, Fribor and Arpad Royal Sluis, could be said to bridge the gap between the tall kales and the dwarf curly types. They are tall and curly, erect, dense-growing, and very uniform and the Fribor variety is available in the U.S. for the first time this year (see the accompanying list of sources).

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