Fingerlings

Hairy Flowers: Specimen 1

Ceci N'est Pas un Artichaut

Call me Cardoon.

Specimens from the Alphabet Garden

Diagram by farmcore

I'm having left-brain right-brain wars as the information architect tries to collaborate with the farmer. Taxonomy is a shared sport. Sort of. My heart gets distracted by the poetry of names: "love lies bleeding." It does, doesn't it? Farm lore changes the flavor of a vegetable: Yacon is a secret among farmers. I reach into the dirt to pull up the tuberous root, native to the Andes. My fingers navigate through clusters of bulbous roots, pick a promising one. Then, excavate! Peel off the skin. Bite into a body of water. Like jicama, but gentler. Only a slight taste--unexpected and almost chemical. Saffron?

I never saw a purple...

Photo by Lissa Ivy