GARDENER'S READING ROOM
Edibles

Summer Vegetables

The purest taste of summer is in the vegetables you pick fresh from your garden. Snap peas plucked from the vine, the first cherry tomato hiding behind a fat green leaf, and basil, oh so fragrant basil…

Some of the most interesting vegetables are the ones that come with a little history. They are called heirloom varieties because the seeds have been passed on down through generations of gardeners and farmers to arrive in our gardens today.

Sometimes a noteworthy character will lend their name to a variety, though ‘Lazy Housewife’ green bean remains anonymous for some reason. While searching for varieties to grow this year I cannot help but wonder, who was ‘Radiator Charlie’, and why is there a tomato named after him? And what is the story behind ‘Yellow Indian Woman’ bean?

A garden with a story deserves plants with some history. The reliability and beauty of ‘Rouge d’Hiver’ lettuce and ‘Rosa Bianca’ eggplant are legendary and their flavors are quite amazing. Man-made hybrids can be great plants also but they do not produce very good seeds. The heirloom plants are referred to as “true to type” because the seeds collected from, for example, a scarlet runner bean in the fall will produce plants with the same fine qualities when planted next spring.

As vegetables are mostly temporary crops, you’ll have the opportunity to redecorate your garden each year. Lime green or chartreuse tones can be found in golden oregano and thyme or a mound of bright yellow leaf lettuce. The dark purple leaves of ‘Bull’s Blood’ beet, ‘Osaka Purple’ mustard greens, and ‘Merlot’ lettuce can provide contrast and drama in the flower bed as well as flavor and beauty to your salad bowl. Make your favorite heirloom vegetables part of your garden’s story, passing them on to future generations.

By Emily Wilkins
Skylights Summer 2011, Vol 26, No. 2

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