Calathora Gardens Tour

Hello Everyone!!

I hope y'all are all well! We are doing great here, except some sickness lately...but we're pretty much over it, praise God!!

We finally have pictures!! Ta~Da!!!

Alright, here goes! {put on a man's English or Austrailian accent for desired effect} "So, without furthur ado or ramblings, I shall take you on the grand tour of Calathora Gardens!! Ladies and Gentlemen, this way, if you please!" "First, as you come in from the gate, to your left, we have several rows of {alternating, to trick the bugs, as this is all 100 % organic} different varieties of the following: squash, peppers, eggplant, and tomatoes. {Watch there, sir~} Um, folks, watch for your feet~we have a horrendous thistle that grows here that's quite painful and thrives here, unfortunately...Alright, people, now for a closer look at some of the varieties!! Just line up, yes, that's the way~don't crowd." "This lovely speciman is called a merliton, or Patty Pan, if you like. They're snow white, just beautiful, and actually, they are native to the Americas. The Indians grew them, and~well, who knows, as this is from an hairloom seed??? Maybe Chief Squatting Sprout passed it down....OK, maybe not..anyway, this is not a scripted part of our tour, so ah~hem!! Let us move on to our next plants...this way, no, this way, ladies and gentlemen!"

"Next is our common yellow crook neck squash~the flower, of course, the wilted thing on the end there, falls off, and the squash get huge, if you let them~most folks like 'em small to medium sized, so we normally cut them a bit bigger then this" {Line of tourists start to look bored, tour guide clears his throut and moves on}

"All right then, we'll move onward~OK, here we are at Eggplant~See that purple blackish color? Well, we also have growing a white variety and a green variety to your left there, if you care to see..Uh, yes, ma'mn they all taste the same. They're quite tasty fried, eaten as a side, or put into Eggplant Parmesan or Melanzane alla Parmigiana, a spectaculer Italian dish which originated in Sicily. Yes, I've been there~beautiul place, jolly folks, great food, 'a course. Um, well. If you cut into this vegetable, it is light in color, with a slightly foamy feel~very interesting texture, with a mild flavor...Ah, no, Sir, we let them get bigger 'afore we cut 'em." "Alright, here we are to my personal favorite tomatoe variety, actually not sure what it's called, but, pretty none the less." "To your right, you'll see another type, nice and big, perfect for the family's salted red tomatoe slices, or for fried green tomatoes, a great favorite here in the old South. " "Ah, yes, those grand red ones right ahead are your Roma tomatoes, great on salads, or just plain if you're a real tomatoe lover. Yah, here, you want to taste? Here, pass these around~great flavor, huh?... Ahem.. please restain yourself to just one, folks. We shant eat 'em out a' house and home. OK, folks, this way. Just follow me." "Here we have two rows of okra, one of God's most delicious creations ever, specially if you batter and fry 'em the way people do around here!! Ah, man, they're just~wow. Anyway, they're better small 'n tender, and they've got a slightly fuzzy outside, slimy inside~Um, yes, sir, most of the slimy feel cooks out, ahuh. They're unbelievable producers, and they seem to grown an inch every few 'ours. They can get just, like, massive! " {here tour guide removes cap, mops brow with huge hankie, places hat back on head after vehemently sneezing~the late spring American allergies are really getting to him~Oh~don't forget your accent, kind reader~think Gieco's Ginkgo} "Here, look~yah, come close~See there? That pear shaped thing is an undeveloped okra~Cute, eh?"

"Ok, we're done with this side of the garden, wish I could show you the peppers, but, our thin runs time~I mean, our time runs thin~What'evea. Anyway, I will now draw your attention over yonder, across that plowed section, to the corn and phase two of the gran' tour of Calathora Gardens!!" {here tour guide sweeps off hat and bows, much to the amusment of the onlookers}

"So saying, just follow me, yes,~that's right, this way."

"Well, this, obviously, is dirt. Of course you know that. Haha! {tour guide laughs heartily over own joke} Down here in south Georgia, the soil is rather sandy, as Calathora Farm is in the coastal regions of the south~we're a mere 1 1/2, 2 hours from the beach~Howevea', Mr. Michael has done a superlative job of adding the appropriate amounts of manure and compost to the soil, so that now it is a nice mixture~the advantage of having relatively sandy soil, is that's it's a breeze to work with, nice 'n soft, no rocks or pepples to get in your way, the way they do in England. Quite fun for the youngsters to play in, I might add. Soft as a pillow. That is, if your Mum doesn't mind the dirt, 'a course."

"OK, let's move on to the corn patch, now. Yes, this way."

"Quite a pretty sight, eh? ""Here's a nice view of the corn tassle~Oh!! Wow!! Look at that sunset, friends!!! Spectacular!!!" {Isn't God's handi work beautiful!!?} "Ah, look here close, folks~a nice plump ear 'a corn, with blackend silk, showing that it's ready 'a harvest. Um, watch the stalks, please! Don't want it to be aw' trampled up when we leave, now, do we, fellows? Please, watch your step. Aw' this meant kindly, dears~no 'arm done, really. Just don't want to lose me job, eh?"

"Now, ladies, gentlemen, ova' here! To your left you've got the beautiful purple cabbages, all in a nice row, waiting to brighten up a salad or a bowl of cole slaw. It's great steamed, too. With a pinch 'a salt, of course. And maybe a little peppa'. I've got like a spectacular sense of taste in regard to, you know, preparing veggies and all. Used to work in a high end resturant. But, OK, on with the tour."" A closer look, if you like~Each leaf is coated in a natural purple coating, that glimmers, really~but, as it comes off as soon as you touch it with your finger, it's special, untouched beauty can really only be enjoyed if you grow it youself. Quite a sight, I should say. One to be enjoyed."

"Alright, now it's over there to your sunflowers, the last specimans on our tour~yes, straight ahead~that's right." "Well, here we are at our sunflowers. The Mum of the house planted these beauties, I think up to about 7 or 8 varieties, several of which I'll be showing you today. ""If any of you young ones want to get down 'ere to get this interesting view of the sunflower stalk, just~that's right~down in the dirt with you. There. Pretty cool, isn't it?""These here to your left, are I think either 'Procut' or 'Ebony Gold', I'm not really sure. You'll have to ask the Mrs. when the tour's over. The petals from these flowers, and the next varities I'll show you, make a lovely addition to a salad, and an unusual flavor that's quite nice, really. "Now these are more to my liking. These, behind that bush. Mexican sunflower, I think they call these. they're about 2 to 3 inches across~ small, but they make a statement of uniqness. ""OK, farther down the row, you have the many petalled Orange Sun, nice and big, a little furry looking too~not many seed, 'owevea'. ""And now, we conclude our tour of the gardens with a close look at the 'Ebony Gold'~lovely, isn't it? Ladies, you can each pluck one, if you like, and Gentleman, you can each have one to grace your lapel~well, I see most of you 'ave tee shirts on~But, 'ere, take one anyway, as a little souvenier. I very much enjoyed showing you around, and hope you come back a take the tour of Calathora Gardens again when we put in another season! Please put all of your trash in the can outside the gate, stay on the path, and have a fantastic evening!!

{ The tour guide waves off his tourists, picks a sunflower, slips it in his lapel, sits down on a sturdy bench, wipes his brow and begins to read "Authentic Italian Cooking" as the sun goes down and the moon comes up.}Goodnight!