I have a confession to make: In my quest to turn my neighbors empty grass-filled yards into the vegetable garden of my dreams, I lost. (I Hope You Don't Mind, But...)When the conversation with normally friendly neighbors begins to involve phrases like, "I'll need to check with my lawyer" and "blah, blah, blah hostile takeover blah, blah, blah", it's time to activate Option B. Option B isn't fabulous, doesn't involve green spikey cauliflower, or UFO shaped mini squash. There will be no 'Pink Lemonade' blueberries or 'Red Swan' beans. There will simply be a few deep pots, several bags of potting soil, and a handful of seed packets. Deep sigh... When faced with frustration of this magnitude, there was only one recourse: It's time to get a little weird!
I decided that since I could only grow a few vegetables, I would grow whatever came in the craziest colors possible and would grow well in a pot. I considered the blue potatoes briefly, just for the sheer pleasure of shocking my family with a pile of fluffy, cerulean spuds. But it was the carrots and candy striped beets that won. I work with a fabulous teacher who once declared, "You were born an original, honey. Don't die a clone!" A fan of anything unique or quirky, I immediately adopted this phrase as my own, scattering it liberally into conversation when out shopping with my daughter or chatting with students. With Ms. P's rich timbre rolling about my brain, I carefully shopped the carrot pages of my seed catalogs. Purple Dragons? Atomic Reds and Solar Yellows? Little ball-shaped carrots that look like orange radishes? Hot damn, darlin'! Sign me up!
The seeds still lie snug in their packets but the anticipation of harvest has me dreaming of multi-hued summer salads and carrot cakes striped with flashes of red, purple, and yellow. Now if I could just figure out how to grow a cream cheese bush...
Container garden? Sounds good!
ReplyDeletemulti-coloured carrots - YES!
ReplyDeleteI'd be tempted to let the neighbours know what they missed out on though.
You go girl! I think weird and quirky is good. There are enough conformist in this world. Can't wait to see how your veggies turn out. I will be anxiously awaiting your harvest!
ReplyDeleteThere is no fear of you being a clone! You're definitely one of a kind and I'm so thankful for it as you add a great voice to this community! Looking forward to that carrot cake!
ReplyDeleteYay!! I *love* this post AND your choice of carrot seeds! That is going to be one colorful carrot cake...can't wait!
ReplyDeleteAs Karin said...You Go Girl! Cream cheese bushes would be wonderful.
ReplyDeleteCream cheese bushes sound good! Can you tell me where I can order some?
ReplyDeleteYour old teacher was very wise.
Fabulous choice. I grew short and wide carrots last year in raised beds and it worked perfectly. Yours should do splendid in containers. Although I kinda wish the neighbours were a bit more daring and adventurous, that would have been fun.
ReplyDeleteI think the cream cheese bushes are in the same aisle as the butter bulbs and Oreo trees! :o)
ReplyDeleteNie mogę Ci pomóc, bo nie wiem gdzie rośnie drzewo ser. Sama chętnie bym je zobaczyła. Pozdrawiam
ReplyDeleteMore appropriate even than "You go girl" is "You grow girl". Your vegetable harvest will be as fun and original as you are! If you find any nurseries with Oreo trees, let me know. I definitely want to get an Oreo tree.
ReplyDeleteI'm growing carrots in containers, too! Mainly because last years' efforts in the big garden were a complete wash out, after a storm carried the seeds to who knows where. I planted earlier this week and have my fingers crossed. Good luck with yours. I love your quote - I may have to use it on occasion myself!
ReplyDeleteAt least you will be colorful and original if not tasty!
ReplyDeleteMmmm...a cream cheese bush! You have me drooling. Sorry about the neighbor thing. Good luck with the wild veggie selection!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! Maybe I'll try something unusual this year, too!
ReplyDelete(hostile takeover, ha ha, good one!)
I, too, fell in love with a pack of rainbow beets this year. They show them sliced so they look like red, yellow and pink bulls-eyes! My 'greens' have a lot of red this year, but you are going WAY beyond me. Sounds more like 'casa NEON' right now. Hope they all work out for ya. :-D
ReplyDeleteMy cosmic purple carrots did great last year. My atomic reds didn't germinate so well. Planted them the same day and in the same spot and from fresh seed packets, so you might want to bear that in mind. Also, the atomic reds that did grow aren't brilliant red. I read that you need to cook them to get that color. I saw this morning that Territorial Seeds has a dark purple/black carrot. You might want to add it to your lineup if you don't already have it. P.S. I love, love, love carrot cake.
ReplyDelete