I just finished a dish of chopped zucchini and garlic, sautéed in olive oil, and topped with parmesan cheese. It was the first zucchini of the season from my garden and I picked it yesterday. The zucchini is a heirloom variety named “black beauty” and I am growing about 10 plants that I started from seed. Looking at the forming fruit on the plants, I can see that they are all a bit different in color due to the nature of an open pollinated plant. Some are very dark, and others are light green, while a few have an almost black striping along their length. Variety within a variety – it can’t get any better than that.
It amazes me too, how these plants are feeding me, but at the same time, feeding my honey bees and the countless bumble bees. Every squash and cucumber flower is visited by one or the other and sometimes both. When I walk over to the nearest bee hive, I can see honey bees landing on the bottom board with their leg sacks bursting with the bright yellow pollen from these plants. I am taken aback that the three of us – plant, bee, and I – are connected. And that’s only the tip of an iceberg that I see. There are probably infinite other connections that are happening beyond my vision and limited comprehension, all because I planted a small zucchini seed.
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