Captivating Crucifers

After the Mr. Corncakes debacle--let's just say that I will always ask permission before I post pictures of my beloved in his long johns ever again-- I wanted to stick with a safe, sweet...

POP QUIZ OF CRUCIFERS! From the slideshow, how many autumn brassicas can you name? Aren't they gorgeous?

Plants in the cabbage family are called brassicas, from the genus Brassica to which many common garden varieties belong. They are staples of the Pacific Northwest winter garden, since many of them thrive in cool weather and can handle some frost. I am glad I took these pictures before their glory faded in a hard freeze.

Answers for the nine pictures, with the varietal name if I know it:

Red cabbage, red mustard, curly kale, red cabbage sprouts that grew after I trimmed the main head (tricky!), green cabbage, January King cabbage, Red Bull Brussel sprouts, third-generation reseeding arugula with the four-petaled white flowers characteristic of this plant family, bok choi, mizuna mustard greens, baby bok choi seedlings in the greenhouse--or pak choi if you read the label on the popsicle stick row marker, curly kale and red mustard side-by-side in the greenhouse.