zucchini plants

I grew these only once and I loved having them as decorative plants more so than for fruiting plants. I recall they made only a few ripe fruit and I cut them off when they were still small because that's how I like to buy them.

I like their large foliage.

Similar to caladium elephant ears.

Both of these have enough empty space around them and under them for other species to stuff into the pots.

So that's what I'm doing this year. Yes to zucchini, no to elephant ears. For a change. And I cut way back on the number of caladiums to intersperse with everything else. In fact, I bought more caladium bulbs for other people than I did for my own balcony. The people I had them shipped to don't even know what the caladium bulbs are. I have to steer them to YouTube videos for information. I want them to understand they best damage their bulbs, gouge out their eyes all around, to redistribute the hormones and double or triple or quadruple the foliage they produce, and how to orient the bulb when planting.

Those crazy things sometimes have roots growing on the top.

All these gardeners talk too much. Every single one of them does. They drive me insane. I looked for the shortest video to show the plant, as a decorative plant, without all that yakkity yak yak for fifteen minutes nonstop.

Are we gardeners types like this in real life?

You'd have to learn to shut off your ears and substitute soothing music just to be around us.

The zucchini seeds that I bought are for a stripped variety. I haven't seen these in the grocery stores and people who bought the seeds rate them highly.

I wish rareseeds would show the plant. Even browser images show the vegetable.

See how other plants can be planted around them to fill in the empty space? You could have stuff grow up through them taller than the zucchini and under them in their shade and among their foliage competing with light and filling the spaces.

Such as caladiums providing different colors and patterns. That is this year's experiment. Maybe it won't work. Maybe it will make getting the vegetables too much trouble. I can see beans growing on poles or thin trellis right up the center of these. It will be fun to try. And triangularis underneath them. You know, layer the vegetables and decorative plants.

I notice morning glories gladly grow among other plants wending their way around them, using the structure of other plants as their armature. Their vining is so light and their foliage so tender that they don't interfere too much while uniting the entire garden by growing across rows of pots. By the end of the season the whole balcony is outrageous and out of control.

Last year in the last month I had two square feet of empty balcony floor area upon which to step. The crawling yam leaves covered the rest. This year I'll try to do that with watermelon. The smaller kind that grow to a soccer ball size. Just to see how that goes. I want vines to grow out of the pots and along the floor in front of the other pots. 

Dude, a tip, just because you'e an exalted gardener doesn't give you license to ponce around the garden in elf shoes.