The Unexpected Beauty!

The ginger in the garden is doing quite well considering the slow start.  Now the plants are a good three feet in height and multiplying rapidly.  These are mostly second-year plants so they are well established and should continue providing me with fresh ginger root to use in the kitchen both in culinary and medicinal ways.  My interest in herbs has expanded far from what I can buy in the grocery store or farmer's market.  Since I use a lot of ginger, I thought it was best to grow my own.  I mean..my goodness!  Have you seen how expensive that stuff is?  And to think, it is comparably easy to grow once you get it started!  My own plants came from a chunk of root that Mark bought at the grocer's.  He always buys such nice, big roots that it is nigh on impossible for me to use it all before it starts to dry and wither.  All the methods of "storing ginger properly" absolutely did not work for me.  Once that plump green sprout started growing on the side of the root, my brilliance of an idea hit.  Plant that thing!

The first few did nothing but rot in the ground.  I suppose that either I watered the thing to death or the root was already too far gone before I stuck it in the ground.  Then, suddenly, they all took root!  Every piece that I stuck in the ground rooted and flourished!  Well, now!  I have a lovely patch of ginger root!  When I want a piece of ginger root, I merely "grubble" around under the plant to find a nice size rhizome and break it from the plant.  This seems to not bother the plant at all as they are still doing well.  I, also, still stick pieces of the roots in flower pots.  Ginger is growing happily alongside of basil, petunias and marigolds!

Today, I was out harvesting a bit of root to use for tea when I noticed something a tad unusual!  My ginger plant was blooming!  This is the first time any have put up buds that I have seen but then again, I might have just missed the show.  The buds of this particular type of ginger only seem to get about a foot tall.  They are well hidden beneath the tall leaves.  I only saw this bloom because a huge purple basil plant was felled by the wind exposing the buds.  One small flower was open on the bud pod.  To me, it almost looks like some sort of orchid!  Tomorrow, I shall get down on my hands and knees to investigate the other gingers.  Surely, this one is not the only bloomer. If, perchance, we do have an extremely cold winter this year, I will mulch the roots extra heavy.  The ones in pots will be moved inside so they can continue to grow.  It is nice having fresh ginger root on hand and wintertime especially calls for its use.  Baked goods, stir-fries, teas and medicines all require a good helping of grated ginger root!  That bloom is just an added bit of curiosity!