A Geek in the Garden
By Jane Starr. Updated from an article originally published in Gardener’s Gate, Summer 2019
I’m a geek. My main geekdom is the traditional kind: science fiction, fantasy, Doctor Who, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, etc. I have about 2000 SF books and a collection of daleks and TARDISes, I’m also a gardening geek, with about 300 gardening books and nobody knows how many plants in my garden. I’m trying not to be an orchid geek, because my house isn’t big enough.
Anyway, aren’t we all geeks? It’s all in what you geek out about: sports, ham radio, knitting, quilting, music, cars, bikes, birds. All geeks. Some of us belong to multiple geek communities. And sometimes, as in my case, the geekiness of one community (SF) bleeds into another (gardening). Show me a plant with even a tenuous connection to science fiction or fantasy, and I’ll probably want it.
So, What Have I Grown?
Tomatoes like ‘Martian Giant,’ ‘Dancing With Smurfs,’ ‘Cosmic Eclipse,’ ‘Starfire,’ ‘Brad’s Atomic Grape.’ I really want to try ‘Rebel Starfighter’ but my usual sources don’t have it yet. Peppers include ‘Vampire,’ ‘Dragon Toe,’ ‘Velociraptor’ and ‘Megalodon.’ Carrots? ‘Dragon’ and ‘Bilbo.’ ‘Dragon Tongue’ beans. ‘Merlin’ beets. ‘Captain Jack’ pumpkins – could be Sparrow or Harkness; either works for me! ‘Skywalker’ cauliflower. Even the humble lettuce has ‘Xena,’ ‘Sulu’ and ‘Vulcan.’
The ornamentals get in the act, too. Especially hostas: ‘Captain Kirk,’ ‘Vulcan,’ ‘A Wrinkle in Time,’ ‘Captain’s Adventure’ and ‘Wolverine.’ ‘Phoenix’ nasturtiums. Ligularia ‘The Rocket’, Ageratum ‘Blue Blazer’ (who else remembers Buckaroo Banzai and his Blue Blaze Irregulars?). Veronica ‘Pink Marshmallow’ is for the Veronica Mars TV series.
Sometimes the link might be obscure to everyone but me. Hosta ‘Holy Mouse Ears’ reminds me of the hyperreligious Aeslin Mice from Seanan McGuire’s Incryptid books. I picked the tomato ‘Nyagous’ because the name sounded so Lovecraftian. And then there’s kohlrabi, which looks like a satellite!
What’s Your Passion?
Of course, there are lots of choices if you’re interested in something else!
World Traveler? You can have the world in just tomatoes! Ukrainian Purple, Black Sea Man, Chiapas (Mexico) Wild Tomato, Hawke’s Bay (New Zealand), Japanese Black Trifele, Tibet, Czech Bush, Berkeley Tie Dye, Crnkovik Yugoslavian Tomato, Tasmanian Chocolate, Palestinian, San Marzano (Italy), Andean Paste, Arkansas Traveler, ’Striped German,’ and more!
Sports? Tomato ‘Champion,’ Runner beans, Hosta ‘Baltimore Oriole’, Broccoli ‘Marathon,’ Green bush bean ‘Contender’
Music? Hosta ‘Earth, Wind and Fire,’ Rose ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale,’ and Tomato ‘Paul Robeson.’
Astronomy? Try tomatoes like ‘Cosmic Eclipse’ and ‘Dark Galaxy,’ Cucumber ‘Mercury,’ Hosta ‘Orion’s Belt’ and of course don’t forget Cosmos.
