Check it out. This garden surprise is almost as long as a foot-long Subway sandwich. After three months of watching and watering my zucchini plant and having very little success in growing any, this morning’s monster was a bit of a shock.

Where has it been all my life?

My recent gardening woes are many. Grasshoppers ate my precious basil plants. I grew one–ONE–glorious cucumber. This endeavor has never come naturally, despite the encouragement and advice from my Master Gardener friends. For them growing things is as natural as breathing.

It’s what they do.

Me? What I do is whine.

The zucchini plant had lots of blossoms, but they were all male. I researched it, by the way. I even learned how to pollinate them and I tried it once. Yes, I really did. The flowers bloom for one day and if you take a Q-tip and swab them, you might luck out.

I didn’t. Turns out plant gynecology is not my thing.

Some little zucchini’s grew three inches long and then died.

Retired Mountain Lady even gave me a pity zucchini. Kind of a good news/bad news gift. And appreciated.

So…I do have cherry tomatoes and they are lovely. One of my basil plants has survived the invasion of grasshoppers. And my pot of sunflowers remains cheerful and blooming.

How does your garden grow?