Thursday, June 3, 2010

Purple and Red

Last year, for the first time, I planted purple salsify.  Its sometime moniker, the "vegetable oyster," teased me into ordering seeds. Although I'm not a big fan of oysters, I am a fan of growing as many varieties of vegetables as reasonably possible.  And, once I grow them, I tend to like them (ground cherries excepted).  Our salsify crop was meager, and I will try to grow more.  One plant remains from last year.
The flower is a gem, isn't it?  Even more interesting are the stages of this flower.  Here, I'll show you.  On the right, brown, seeds are developing that I hope to plant this Fall.  See the flower that hasn't yet opened?
Let's turn now to what our son has called his "favorite vegetable."  Much maligned, I don't know why, a fresh beet, roasted, is sweet and tender.  Here, a friend of ours picks her first beet ever.  Tug a little.  It doesn't take much because the bulb sits near the surface of the ground.
"She seems pretty happy with the size of that puppy," says Virginia.
"May I see it?" says a hollyhock.
 Sure. Open wide.
Now don't cry.
Soon, tomatoes...
and daisies. "Phone home!"
Returning to our theme for the day, here are some larkspurs, volunteering among the peas, from a planting 3 years ago.

4 comments:

  1. LOVELY-- and thanks for the tour of your garden yesterday. It is magnificent.

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  2. Nice to see Laura pulling a beet. Salaify is something I've never tried. What's it like? J

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  3. It looks like a white carrot, like parsnips. Tastes rather bland, compared to parsnips and carrots.

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