I’m really stuck between harvests right now. The black raspberries are finished and my summer crops aren’t quite ready yet. Sure, I’m getting an occasional apple (tonight’s Gravenstein was delicious)and I’ve gotten a few raspberries, but they aren’t really producing much. The few plums I allowed to grow on my new tree are gone, and my Sungold tomato has just teased me with a few pieces of garden candy. Mostly, I’m watering and waiting.

So, I’m making do by enjoying the blossoms on my summer crops. I normally don’t pay much attention to blossoms on food crops, as they aren’t particularly showy and they typically only last a couple days. But, this year, I couldn’t help noticing my eggplant. I love the colors green and purple together, and the eggplant (first one I’ve planted in about 25 years) really surprised me with it’s beautiful purple-veined leaves and the deep violet blossoms.

So, I got out the camera tonight and took a closer look at what my food crops have to offer in the way of pre-harvest beauty. The eggplant blossom hangs down, but when I flipped it up, it has beautiful yellow stamens inside that contrast with the purple petals. Very nice.

And my cherry tomatoes are producing clusters of blossoms that, in just a few weeks, will be providing me with clusters of tomatoes. These are blossoms from a Sungold tomato, an orange cherry-sized tomato that I tried last year. It’s a hybrid, and I’d rather have an heirloom that I can save seeds from, but this tomato is very sweet and really is like eating candy, so I went for it again this year.

Look closely at my cucumber blossom and you’ll see a cucumber in the background that is well along, and another that is just getting started. The bell pepper blossom looks like it already has a small green fruit swelling up inside. I hope I can get good peppers this year. I’ve never had much luck with bell peppers, but I thought I’d give them another try this year. Finally, take a look at the tiny white flower of my ground cherry. This is only about one-quarter inch across. The blossoms aren’t really anything to write home about. But, I tried this last year and fell in love with the fruit. There is a small (pea to raisin sized) tasty gold berry inside a papery, lantern-like sheath. This year’s plant is much denser than last year’s plant, and I already have dozens of the “lanterns” on the plant already. I look forward to harvesting them in a few weeks.

So, although I’m not harvesting much food right now, my crops are nonetheless providing me with food for my soul, a promise of things to come.