The Eccentric Personalities of Garden Vegetables

If you’ve spent any time tending a vegetable garden, you’ve probably noticed that plants seem to have personalities of their own. I don’t mean in the talking-to-them-like-they-can-hear-you sense (though I’ve done my fair share of that), but in how they behave—some are independent and strong-willed, while others are needy and temperamental. In our little garden at Sunnyside, it feels like I’m working with a bunch of characters every season.

The Divas

Let’s start with the tomatoes, the absolute divas of the vegetable world. They demand perfect conditions—just the right amount of sunlight, water, and space.

Give them too much attention, and they’ll sulk with wilted leaves. Not enough? Same response. But when you get it right, they’ll reward you with plump, juicy fruit that makes it all worthwhile.

They know they’re the stars of the garden, and they act like it.

The Perfectionists

Peas, the garden perfectionists, always need things just so. They need support, literally—they’ll grow up, not out, and if you don’t give them something to climb on, they’ll just sit there, looking disappointed. But get it right, and they’ll reward you with crisp, sweet pods that make all the fuss seem worth it. Just don’t expect them to handle anything on their own.

The Goondas

Strawberries are the goondas of the garden—absolute thugs. Sure, they look cute, but give them a little space, and they’ll take over like they own the place. They send out runners that stretch out like a gang, muscling in on other plants' turf. One day you’ve got a patch of strawberries, the next, they’re everywhere, choking out anything in their way. You have to keep an eye on them, or they’ll have the whole garden under their rule.

The Introverts

Potatoes are the underground introverts. You don’t see much of them until the end of the season, but you trust that they’re doing their thing beneath the surface. They don’t demand your constant attention, and in the end, they surprise you by showing up in unexpected places when you least expect it. Digging them up feels like uncovering hidden treasure.

The Dreamers

And then there are pumpkins—the garden dreamers. They start small and humble but seem to have no idea how big they can get. They’ll take over entire sections of the garden if you let them, sprawling their vines wherever they please. They don’t grow fast, but they grow wide, as if they’re planning to take over the whole garden. When harvest time finally arrives, it feels like they’ve been quietly plotting to impress you all along.

Gardening, in the end, feels a bit like a quiet conversation. You plant, water, and tend, and the vegetables respond in their own way—sometimes loudly, sometimes with stubborn silence. The tomatoes demand constant attention, the mint spreads out like it’s on a mission, and the peas quietly climb, needing a little guidance. Each plant has something to say, even if it’s not always what you expected to hear.

It’s not about control, and it’s rarely predictable. But that back-and-forth, that give-and-take with the garden, is what keeps things interesting. You do your part, the plants do theirs, and you learn to adjust as you go.