When I left Portland on Wednesday, I had a few small zucchinis hanging out in my garden. I got home Saturday night and found a foot-long zucchini blimp about 8 times larger than when I left! It's freaky how fast it grew.
Things show up in unexpectedly in summer. I wait patiently for certain things to grow, which end up withering. Did I plant it in the wrong place? Did I use too much water, or not enough? I don’t know.
Then other things thrive that I wasn’t expecting - the accidental potatoes, for example. Last fall I planted a potato that had started sprouting in the fridge, to see what would happen. I completely forgot about it, and one day in June I noticed several huge plants in my front bed. (Potato plants are pretty cool looking by the way.) I pulled one up to see what it was, and it had tiny red potatoes on its roots! I immediately put it back, and started watering that bed. I dug up my first potatoes today, and they were really tasty!
Who knows what else summer will bring, not to mention fall? Every day is a complete surprise. I think carrots, I get potatoes. I want beans, I get zucchini. Either way, I am still being fed. All I can do is plant, water, let go, and learn. And eventually, eat and enjoy! (Tomorrow I’m making zucchini bread.)
Happy summer, and I hope the garden of your life is full of bounty. Don't forget to check under the leaves - something unexpected may be growing there!
