Beloved of the French – and cultivated by them for centuries – the ornamental cabbage is the perfect hardy annual for introducing sculptural form and a splash of vibrant colour to a winter garden

With leaves almost coral-like in their intricacy and colours ranging from delicate greens to intense aubergine purples, ornamental cabbages are ideal for making a grand statement either planted in a stone urn or peeping from a formal border. The cabbage family is extensive, ranging from round-headed varieties such as Brassica oleracea 'January King', 'Christmas Drumhead' and 'Marner Lagerrot', to those with pointed heads such as 'Winnigstadt' and its derivative 'Cuor di Bue'. There are also varieties akin to kale, such as Dwarf Green Curled. In France, the likes of 'White Peacock' and 'Pigeon Purple', with their crinkly, green and white, or green and aubergine leaves, have been important ingredients in the ornamental garden for centuries. Here this decorative vegetable is so well-loved that “mon petit chou” (my little cabbage) is used as a term of endearment. Spendid examples can be seen in the gardens of the great Renaissance chateau, Villandry in the Loire Valley. For inspiration closer to home on how to grow them, visit the walled garden at Harewood House, near Leeds.

CHOOSING AND CULTIVATING ORNAMENTAL CABBAGES
For striking floral arrangements, you can buy cut cabbages from florists, but for a real sense of satisfaction, why not sow your own seed next spring? With a fertile, preferably chalky soil and plenty of sun, by early autumn you will have a crop all your own. The uneven surfaces of the leaves means that pests such as cabbage white butterflies find it difficult to land, so unsightly eaten leaves are rare, although the caterpillar is a danger – the RHS advises that you pick them off, and, if you are suffering on a large scale, to spray them with the biological control Bacillus thuringiensis. There are varieties of cabbage available that will produce heads from spring right through to winter, from the glorious 'Rose Bouquet', which produces dwarf, solid round heads of luminescent red-pink, surrounded by a ruff of green leaves, to Tuscan cavolo nero, a black-coloured kale with leaves like ostrich feathers.

WHERE TO BUY ORNAMENTAL CABBAGES
• The Heritage Seed Library, (024) 7630 3517.
• Suttons, 0870 220 2899.
• Seeds of Italy, (020) 8930 2516.
• Thompson & Morgan, (01473) 688821.

WHERE TO SEE ORNAMENTAL CABBAGES
• Chateau Villandry, (00 33) 2 47 50 02 09.
• Harewood House, (0113) 218 1010.

WORDS AND STYLING JACKY HOBBS
PHOTOGRAPHS MICHELLE GARRETT
NOVEMBER 2004