Passing the Love of Gardening on to Our Grandchildren

The warm, lazy days of summer are here and now it is time to reap the harvest of our spring labors. After planting all the different vegetables, my grandchildren are enthusiastically helping me pick the Costata Romanesco squash (the deeply ridged Italian zucchini) , Trionfo Violetto pole beans (when picked they are a deep, deep purple, but turn green when cooked), Yugoslavian Finger Squash (yes, they look like a ring of fingers) and a cluster of Tomaccio Sweet Raisin tomatoes (when they are dried, they taste as sweet as raisins). In a few weeks, we'll have Tigger and Moon and Stars melons and Big Zac tomatoes (2-5 pound tomatoes). I hope the rituals of planting, tending, picking and serving summer's bounty with magical names and shapes will inspire my munchkins to love the miracle of gardening as much as I do.