World Domination

The garden has plans for World Domination. I can practically see it over there in its high tech control room, stroking its white Persian cat and having a Cuban cigar. It's planning to take over civilization, I tell you.

Case in Point : I am fairly certain that my once tiny Tomatillo (Tom -- this is a plant that demands a name) is not really a Tomatillo at all, but some sort of an alien flora growing little spawns that will some day burst out of their fragile yet tough green shells to pose as members of the White House cabinet (oh NO, too late! The country is being run by aliens with the brains of tomatillos!). Of course, I plan to make Salsa Verde of these particular specimens before they mature, so it's probably a moot point. For comparison, the last tomatillo I tried to grow reached approximately 10 inches in height and formed one tiny, pathetic fruit which turned brown and dropped off almost immediately. Tom, on the other hand, is not a plant so much as it is a presense. It's a bit hard to get the scale from a photograph, but Tom stands about five feet tall and spans, I kid you not, about six feet in diameter. Let's just say that I never thought I'd have to sink a freakin' tree stake for a tomatillo. That's. One. Big. Tomatillo. You are all getting Salsa Verde for Christmas this year :


And the alien spawn pods, of which there are an uncountable number, are hanging all over the darned thing :


And then there's the corn. If I didn't know better, I'd think it was fake. It's Showroom Quality Corn (TM). It's amazingly perfect. Every day I comb it looking for flaws, and thus far nothing but perfect, beautiful ears, and dozens of them. And it's nine freakin' feet tall!








And the tomatoes. I'm growing six supposedly finicky heirloom varieties (nope, no Early Girls or Best Boys or Gaffers or Key Grips or whatever they call those big commercial performers for me). And they're all absolutely covered with juicy and well formed fruits. Even the leaves are spotless and beautiful this year (I think the hot summer we've been having really helps) :



And one more image -- a happy green pepper that is slated to become part of my breakfast tomorrow :