A name is not just a name

Before Rose started her tomato projects this year, I must admit I thought of tomatoes as plants. They were plants with wonderful tasty fruits and "itchy" leaves. Nothing else. I enjoyed them, but they were just plants. Now that all of this has taken place, all of that has changed. I am seeing tomato articles and recipes EVERYWHERE! Were they there in past years? I don't know, I didn't take much notice. I also never paid much attention to the names of the tomato varieties we planted. That started to change as I heard Rose talk of different types of plants she should grow this year. The names were interesting. Then I ran across an article in our local newspaper magazine about a guy who stumbled upon heirloom tomatoes 30 years ago from a chance meeting with an old Portuguese farmer. He spoke of sampling "Kellogg's Breakfast", "Brandywine", and "Cherokee Purple", and how these flavors blew him away. The vision of stumbling across this old farmer on a hot, dusty summer day drew me in. This was a website I had to check out. It took me about a month, but finally I typed in that web address. I couldn't believe what I was looking at. Anything and everything about heirloom tomatoes was there. About 600 varieties of tomato seeds for sale? I didn't know that many even existed! I looked farther to see wonderful descriptions and any known history these tiny seeds held. Families send seeds to this guy, Gary Isben, to grow and preserve for future generations to enjoy. You need to check out this site also: http://www.tomatofest.com/ . I started to notice names like: "Indian Moon", "Early Annie","Hillbilly", "Ella's Pink Plum", Elmer's Old German", and "Homer Fike's Yellow Oxheart" . They suddenly were more than just names. Ella and Elmer were instantly a couple. My vision for next year is as follows: Ella and Elmer will stand at the entrance to my garden welcoming visitors, and reminding them to visit again soon! Homer Fike and that old Hillbilly will be fussing further into my garden near my sweet onions and wonderful bell peppers. Tender herbs will grow at "Belle's" feet, being protected from the summer sun under her tall strong leaves, all ripening perfectly to become the world's best salsa. Along a meandering path, will be rambling cucumbers, and my girls giant pumpkins growing strong in the summer sun. My girls will be the ones darting in and out of their sweet corn maze, playing hide and seek. "Ruth's Perfect", and "Pink Accordian", also heirloom tomatoes, will grow in a special place in honor of my Mom and Dad. It may seem odd to plant a "pink" tomato for a dad, but my Dad was from Ireland, and quite the jovial accordian player. It seems like a good fit. "Beam's Yellow Pear" and "Austin's Red Pear" cherry tomatoes, will grow for you, Rose, to create more wonderful edible works of art! This is my vision of the perfect garden. Beautiful, plants grown and enjoyed with love, by people who love each other, all the while having fun on a lazy summer day. Yes, fresh squeezed lemonade will be sipped under the old apple tree!!