Plants, vegetables and trees can grow into the most amazing shapes. These oddities of nature show that twists, bends and outgrowths can turn an ordinary plant into something that looks totally different.
This inspiration for this post came from a morning breakfast jaunt. After breakfast Richard and I were driving around and we came upon this oddball of a house. It made me think of a poem from my childhood.
Keep reading to discover some vegetables, fruits and trees that also take on amazing shapes.
“There was a crooked man”
By Mother Goose
There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile,
He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile;
He bought a crooked cat which caught a crooked mouse,
And they all lived together in a little crooked house.Source: The Dorling Kindersley Book of Nursery Rhymes (2000)
Unusual house with a crooked theme.
The house is designed with it in mind, I’m sure. I love the starkness of the bamboo style grass along the front. It fits in perfectly with the design of the house!
The owners of the house even made the entryway lean to the left to match. What fun!
Oddities of Nature
After we left the place, I started thinking about other odd shapes in nature. Many of us have found vegetables in our gardens that have weird shapes.
Some of them are quite naughty, and some seem to be endearing like this image of these intertwined carrots that seem to be embracing each other.
IT’S A NOSE! Well I suppose if I looked at this eggplant in a slightly different way, I MIGHT see something else here, but let’s keep it clean, folks!
This sweet pepper gives me the heeby-jeebies. It almost looks like something out of a Halloween movie!
Looks like a couple of these bamboo stalks have some rhythm going on. Keep the beat baby!
Oh, oh…it’s a battle. Looks like this zucchini snake is choking the insides out of the sweet pepper!
Photo credit Flickr L’imaGiraphe (en travaux)
This kohlrabi plant looks like something out of the day of the Triffids! I expect it to start walking any time now! Science Fiction in Mother Nature.
Some plants have names and shapes that evoke a spooky mood. This corpse flower might look pretty, but it actually smells like rotting meat.
This makes it the perfect plant to add to my list of 21 Halloween plants!
What would you think if you came across this crooked tree on a walk. It looks like a gigantic python! Not sure I’d dare to climb through the opening. Would you?
Funny Fruits and Crooked Vegetables
I’m not quite sure where this crooked snake-like cucumber starts and ends. It seems to be growing on to forever. Wonder how it tastes?
This is not so much an oddity as the way fiddle head ferns grow. They look just like the top of a fiddle. Did you know that you can eat them? Find out all about fiddle heads here.
Mother Nature seems to have a great sense of humor. This Easter Egg Plan begins white, looking for all the world just like a bunch of chicken eggs.
The fruit matures to orange, green, yellow and pastel creamy colors. Great planted to bloom around Easter time! This is an ornamental eggplant.
This tomato has a rather voluptuous look to it, doesn’t it. I can decide which part of the human body that I think it looks like, the top half or the bottom back side!
Another oddity affecting tomato plants is catfacing. This abiotic disorder is caused by planting too soon and results in deformed tomatoes.
Find out more about catfaced tomatoes here.
Unusual Oddities of Nature
These trees are part of a the Crooked Forest located outside of Nowe Czarnowo, Western Pomerania in Poland. Each tree has a similar bend in it, just above ground level.
It’s likely that some technique was used to make them grow this way but I don’t have any definite info on this. However it was done, it looks like a wonderful place to visit!
There is some thought that they were meant to be used in the manufacture of ornamental furniture.
I am In LOVE with this photo from Blue Fox Farm. My friend Jacki was digging up her willow roots and dragged the roots to a fence to dry before burning them.
On a closer look she discovered what looked like a grove of primitive people. She calls them her Willow Root People in this article.
They look like something out of a Sci Fi movie!
Photo credit Blue Fox Famr
Potatoes can grow into all sorts of shapes. (You can even grow them in 40 gallon trash bags!) This heart shaped potato gives new meaning to the saying “cook from the heart.”
Since I started with a crooked house, it seems appropriate to end with one. This crooked garden shed is one of the most charming things I have ever seen.
I love the fairy tale look of it. For more unusual garden sheds, check out this article.
I hope you have enjoyed these oddities of nature. Sometimes Mother Nature likes to play tricks on us!
Do you have an oddity of nature that grew in your garden? Please upload the photo to the comments below. I’d love to see your crooked veggies and fruits!