Cucumber Curlicues

Part of the fun of planting cucumber seeds is having an abundance of pretty yellow blossoms to admire. This year, I found a new appreciation for the vines: how they reach out and grab whatever's close and the wonderful crazy shapes they form.

They crept into the herbs, trying to take over the basil and everything else in their path.


It was a bumper crop of cucumbers (on the right).

They 'reached across the aisle' to the neighboring raised garden box, making friends with the tomatoes.

The little curlicues caught my fancy.

So interesting how it wraps itself and hangs on for dear life. This photo kind of reminds me of a snake coiled up, but eeek! I shouldn't talk like that.

Then I started seeing shapes of things, like one might see in the clouds.

Hello butterfly.

A spiral perm.

A musical note.

The tongue of a frog lunging out for a fly.

What a tangly mess. Have you ever taken the time to peer into the middle of a cucumber patch?

Curlicues charmed me this summer.

I couldn't wait to go out and find what shapes I'd see next.

"No two gardens are the same. No two days are the same in one garden". ~Hugh Johnson


"One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides". ~W.E. Johns

Hang on, dear vine, and reach for the sky.

I will pay more attention to dainty little curlicues from here on out.

That's what's magical about raising a garden. Every year is different and something new is bound to catch your eye.

See the cucumber in the background? That's another magical thing about raising a garden. Yum!