Garden Variety

I still sometimes say "garden variety" when I mean "ordinary." A lot of people do. The expression must come from the days when everyone had a garden and when if you wanted something special, you weren't growing it yourself. Seems like things have come full circle. We now talk "heirloom varieties" when talking about the garden instead -- something special, old, not new-fangled, and not something you are likely to get in the grocery store. Maybe "garden variety" shouldn't be an insult anymore.

If something is garden variety and actually from someone's garden these days it is to be prized, someone's care and attention went into producing it. It is not something to be dismissed.

And when it comes to eating ethically, a garden variety is likely the better choice. We can know more about it and knowledge is power.

Here are some of my "garden varieties." Peppers, yellow squash, lettuce and peas. I will never think of them as lowly again--and I won't compare them with the ordinary.

And when these get a little bigger and ready to harvest, it will surely be some ethical eating!