Love Poem for Doreen

 

In memory of Doreen Daucus (May, 2008 – July, 2008).

The plant shown is a carrot (Daucus carota subspecies sativus). According to Wikipedia, “The wild ancestors of the carrot are likely to have come from Afghanistan.”

When I was growing up, we had a big vegetable garden in the backyard (a big backyard, being on a farm). My brothers and I each had our own row. Carrots usually got planted at the end farthest from the house. I liked to grow zucchini nearest the house.

The image in the comic is based on the illustration on Plate 31 of the book Botanischer Bilder-Atlas (1884) by Carl Hoffmann (1802–1883). (That book is available online at BioLib.de.)