Things that make you go hmmm

This used to be a council flowerbed, well kept and full of bee-attracting flowers every summer. Then the people who live alongside it must have bought or leased it from the council, to make an extension for their garden.
Nothing much has been going on, except a straggly laurel hedge and a few tomato plants have appeared. Passing it today though, I saw this plant. Whatever is it ? The stem looks a bit like a date palm, but the leaves look a bit like curly kale. I think I’ll have to get one of those apps on my phone that just looks at a plant then tells you what it is.