Happy accidents happen in my gardens all the time. I have what looks like cucumbers (or maybe squash) volunteering in my newly prepped and planted carrot bed. And then there is the strip of grass along the edge of the garden plot that I seeded with all the seed packet remnants. I tossed out all the saved seeds from two years ago. No telling what might come up. The happy surprise were a couple of these zinnias with twisted petals. Not a seed variety I purchased. So, have I made an accidental hybrid? If I save the seeds, can I reproduce this display next summer? Can I remember that I have these seeds next summer. Do I even want to try to be that exacting and precise?
That’s the difference between gardening out of necessity and hobbyist gardening. The food I grow is additive, surplus, augmenting. It is not our foundational food. Although, maybe I need to rethink this. Maybe I should be growing more food for the main meal and not just the flourish.
