The Things We Grow (And Sometimes Fry)

There are things we grow because we planned to. Tomatoes, basil, cucumbers — the polite, predictable crowd.

And then there are the things we grow because life nudged us, whispered try this, or handed us a packet of seeds we didn’t remember buying.

That’s how the loofahs arrived in my garden. Not as a project. Not as a plan. Just a curiosity dangling from a trellis, growing longer and stranger by the day.

Most people meet a loofah at the end of a shower, never knowing it once hung heavy and green under the late‑summer sun. But when you grow one yourself, you learn its secret: young loofahs are tender, edible, and surprisingly delicious.

One evening, I sliced a small one open — pale, soft, almost shy — and tossed it into a skillet with garlic and oil. It sizzled, softened, and turned into something bright and comforting, like zucchini with a wild streak.

And that’s when it hit me:

The garden is full of things we can eat, fry, savor, or turn into something beautiful… if we’re brave enough to try.

Some harvests become dinner. Some become skincare. Some become stories.

This space — this little corner of Iron & Ivy — is where I keep those stories. The experiments. The accidents. The “I didn’t know you could do that” moments that make gardening feel like magic.

Here’s to the things we grow… and sometimes fry.