Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Mystery Vine















This strange looking vine with huge leaves popped up in our little side garden at the beginning of summer. I decided to leave it, figuring it was some sort of seed that sprouted from the undercooked compost I'd put down. And besides, by mid to end summer the roses usually looked fairly ratty, so at least it would add some green. But what was this mystery vine? We soon had a clue....



















Could it be a Butternut Squash?















It was! It was a Butternut Squash! So we cooked it up. Yum! We should have let it ripen a bit more on the vine, but it was delicious, anyway.















We've also been growing cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes and peppers. This was our first year experimenting with container vegetables. Not everything has been a bountiful success, but we did okay, considering the strange weather. (At least we kept the deer away!) We'll experiment some more next year.















It feels good to play with a garden, or a story, or a piece of art...

6 comments:

Unknown said...

oh yummmmmmmmm! I always love it when surprise things sprout and grow in our garden...these are butternut squashes and will be awesome baked in the oven or made into a creamy soup,,,...

thanks for sharing these wonderful photos...

have a great day and I have a sweet illustration on my blog for all my "sweet" friends...like you!

Cindy Garber Iverson said...

Well what a lovely garden surprise. I like when it turns out like that instead of being a pesky weed. Glad I came over from Gretel's blog.

Cindy

Christine Mercer-Vernon said...

by the leaves i knew it had to be a squash, what yummy surprise!! you're harvest has turned out better than mine thus far. we've had one small bunch of green beans, some small knobby carrots, 3 turnips, and finally one yellow zucchini. bad year for gardening. i might try the container gardening next year.

Jennifer Thermes said...

Aw, thanks Diana! That's so sweet of you! The squash was awesome. It's amazing how much better home-grown tastes than store bought...

Hi Cindy-- I'm glad you stopped by, too! The squash was a nice surprise, given that I'm in a constant battle with weeds. (Why is it that the older I get, the faster they grow??) I'm off to check out your blog...

Well, the harvest was dumb luck, Christine, as we really rushed putting the containers together. But the nice thing is that they're somewhat portable and you can control the soil. We have super heavy clay around here that would have to be amended-- I've already wrecked my back enough, thank you! (Kind of worth it though, when things are blooming the way they're supposed to!) :-)

SusanLW said...

I am so jealous. I have a wonderful perennial garden up here. I am not a gardener. Fortunately the plants are well established and they are doing their best to fight off the weeds. I'm afraid to pull anything out for fear it may be something good.

I've come to except weeds as wild flowers (very Pollyanna of me). Some of them are quite lovely and add a wildness to my vase bouquets.

Jennifer Thermes said...

I agree with you about some weeds, Sue! It takes a few years to get to know your garden, too. Good idea to wait and see what comes up!