Beautiful accident

A beautiful accident happened this year in my garden and I thought it was worth sharing. Back in Spring I bought 6 tomato plants late. I discarded 3 of them as they didn’t look healthy and I wanted to make sure the others were productive. The rejects grew up from the mound of soil where they were dumped to be used as mulch (around a hedge of elaeagnus). The tomato plant that has grown up between a red veined sorrel (mineral accumulator) and a elaeagnus x ebbingei (nitrogen fixer) has currently got green fruit. I’m mostly shocked because the plant doesn’t get much sunlight. I think because the plant has all it needs in terms of nutrition it can get by on less light plus it is in the corner that seems to be a bit sheltered, maybe a tiny microclimate going on? Anyway I seriously didn’t think that any of the unhealthy looking plants would grow up from scratch looking healthy AND produce fruit. But now that they have I can make an educated guess as to why they did If only all of this had happened earlier I would have probably got more fruit but like I said before I bought the tomato plants late.

Scarlet,
That is indeed lovely. I think some of the most beautiful pairings in my garden are the result of accidents--nature knows so much more about what should go where than we do. I neglected to take a photo of one of my most beautiful accidents this year, but it looked like something from a gardening magazine and I had almost nothing to do with it. I planted some corn as an afterthought very late in the season (just to see if it would make a go of it anyway). I wanted to try a native method of sowing several grains together in deep holes (about 6" deep!!!) so, not wanting to take up more valuable space in the garden proper, I made a small plot roughly 6' x 10' over an old compost pile in a corner. Not only was the corn a huge success, with shoots over 12' tall and loaded with ears, but a black tomato (probably Cherokee purple) and an Italian edible gourd volunteered to twine themselves in and around it. All were lush and absolutely gorgeous throughout the main season and the tomato and gourd are still producing delicious fruits in October with little evidence of slowing down. The tall corn plants in the center with the cut-leaves of the tomato in the middle height and sprawling heat-shaped leaves of the gourd down low, made a perfect composition. Much nicer than the usual straight, clean, monocultural rows of a typical garden!

Deb Stephens wrote:Scarlet,
nature knows so much more about what should go where than we do.

Agreed!

Yes for sure, nature does a great job of planting (via birds and squirrels) and what goes where. My garden is actually the open spaces in my orchard where edibles such as stinging nettle, sorral and dandelion grow. I'm sure there's more to be found.
Bob

Three sisters
Corn or sunflower in the center. Then climbing beans next to corn or sunflower. Next pumpkin or squash to shade the soil. Reduces weeds and cools soil

I gifted a tablet of graph paper to my kids a few years back.   Apparently it was tucked away for some time.   When my daughter went to use it this Spring,  she came across this old map of the garden.   The plans then have taken many different turns and much of it bears little resemblance to the map.   So much fun in the finding and remembering.   Indeed a beautiful accident.