❧ Garden Fail Notes: The Broccoli That Refused to Be Broccoli AKA I Got Leaves But No Heads

I went out believing I had broccoli.

Not broccoli exactly. More the idea of broccoli. Little green heads waiting faithfully in the garden for their destiny.

Instead I discovered leaves.

Just leaves. Enthusiastic leaves. Wild leaves. Broccoli that had apparently decided traditional expectations were not for it.

No tiny crowns.

No grocery store perfection.

No neat little florets posing for advertisements.

Just an entire plant saying:

"I have become something else."

I considered this a failure for approximately thirty seconds.

Then garlic entered the situation.

A little olive oil. Minced garlic warming in the pan. Parmesan drifting over the top.

And suddenly the garden was reminding me of something it seems to enjoy teaching over and over:

Not everything arrives in the shape we expected.

Some things become soup herbs.

Some things become bouquets.

Some things become stories.

Some things become dinner.

Tonight my failed broccoli became garlicky greens beside ravioli and salad and a quiet evening after work.

Not bad for something that supposedly didn't work out.

❧