Garden Mustards

Kale (Brassica oleracea) flower.
Kale (Brassica oleracea) flowers are quite beautiful.

A couple of days ago I found some Field Mustard (Brassica campestris) down by the Courtenay Estuary and in photographing the plant I got to thinking how similar the flowers looked to the flowers on the kale (Brassica oleracea) that overwintered in our backyard garden. At this time of year the kale have really taken off and are closing in on 2m in height! We’ve decided to let them go to seed so that we can plant again for next winter.

Kale (Brassica oleracea) flower
Kale (Brassica oleracea) flower detail.

I was poking around in the garden this morning trying to find an excuse to avoid weeding and thought that it would be fun to photograph the kale flowers. The yellow flowers are typical of Brassicaceae and are radially symmetrical and have four petals. Many other garden plants are also in the Mustard Family including cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, turnips, rutabaga, kohlrabi, and Brussels sprouts. This year I think that maybe I’ll plant a few of these and let them go to flower as well!

Kale (Brassica oleracea) leaf.
Kale (Brassica oleracea) leaf.

At the end of the gardening season letting some plants go to flower provides good food sources for a variety of garden insects. After the plants go to seed, birds like golden-crowned sparrows and white-crowned sparrows will eat the seeds in the fall. Leaving some plants for insects and birds is an easy way to share the bounty while attracting wildlife to your yard!