The Tomato

Color tomatoes for a garden card.

 

Tomato
In old Peru at first I grew,
Wrinkled and small when I was new.
Explorers carried me to Spain,
But thence I've traveled far again.
The nineteenth century smoothed my
skin,
I'm neat and red outside and in.

• More Tomato Clip Art and Verse
• Read about veggies from the Nightshade Family

The Blackberry

Blackberries on the vine.

 

Blackberry
I love the mountains, wild and free,
Their Northern slope's the home for
me!
I do not like a Southern sun,
Since eighteen hundred forty-one
America has loved me best,
Prince of berries, once a pest.

• Blackberry rhyme and mini-book page

The Date

Date
I grew in Asia, ages past;
Africa's deserts brown and vast
Were made less cruel by my shade;
Oil, drink and wood from me are made.
The ancient Jews in chanting psalms
Carried my green, symbolic palms. 

Dates growing on a tree.
See ''Color Bunches of Dates'' and
''The Bible Botanical'' listing and
landing page

The Pea

peas in their pods

 Pea

When Asia's ancient splendor bloomed

I flourished there, -my seeds entombed

Were found in Egypt, so my age

Is written clear on history's page.

Yet older still than this am I,--

I grew before Swiss lakes went dry.

• Green pea verse, links, postcards and bookmarks!
• Learn about The Legume Family
• Craft a pea pod from cotton batting

The Turnip

illustrated turnips

Turnip
In Eastern Europe, Asia too,
There in ages past I grew,
Many people love me well,
My virtues every day they tell.
But Sweden added to my fame,
There "rutabaga" I became.

• The White Turnip verse and mini-book page
• ''Rapunzel'' fairy tale about the unfortunate events that follow after a woman infatuated with rutabagas...
• Learn more about The Mustard Family
• Color these garden veggies for kids . . .

The Squash

Simple drawing of patty pan squash.

 

Squash

The sunny South for me is fine,

In which to spread my pretty vine.

I do not like the North, and so

In Spain and Italy I grow.

Where winds blow cold across the sky,

I'm never found, for there I'd die.

• Paint a bur acorn to look like a blue Hubbard squash!
• Read another verse about Summer Squash and Marrow
• Learn about gourds and pumpkins and their uses
• Read more about The Melon or Cucumber Family here

Grapes

Simple drawing of grapes.

Grapes
Children of Israel loved my vine,
They trampled me to blood-red wine,-
For use in sacrifice and rite
To praise their Lord,- since first the
light
Fell on my leaves in Noah's day
As King of fruits, I've held my sway.

• Make jams and jellies for a child's pretend kitchen, grape included of course!
• ''I AM The Vine'' coloring page with grape border 
• Grapes for Communion Themes
• Grape patterns or Chrismon trees
• Color the Fruits We Eat

The Potato

 Potato
Peru, the Andes' sunny plain,
Was first my home, then into Spain.
I traveled with Pizarro's men
From the New World and back again.
When famine fell on Ireland's shore,
My worth was proved forevermore.

Potatoes in a basket text"Potatoes selected for seed"

More potato rhyme and stories . . . 

The Onion

Simple drawing of onions.

 

Onion
I am older than Egypt's ancient
kings--
I was born where the ibis
spreads its wings.
But soon I wandered wide and
far,
From Northern fjords to Zanizi-
bar.
And now you'll find me every-
where,
On every nation's bill of fare.

• Read more about Spanish onions here, mini-book page
• Learn more about The Allium Family
• The Radish and Green Onion verse

Almond

The Almond - Hope

The hope, in dreams of a happier hour,

That alights upon misery's brow,

Spring out of the silvery Almond flower,

That blooms on a leafless bough.

Moore 

The Fig

Fig
My gnarled and sturdy branching tree
Flourished in far antiquity,-
From ancient Syria I came,
I spread to lands of Bible fame,
And now in modern Palestine,
The first fruit's honor still is mine.

vintage fig varieties, watercolor

A black and white drawing of a fig branch, leaves and fruit.

Apple verse and clip art.

 Apple
Though born on Asia's Western plains
Each continent is in my veins,
My crooked boughs, my noble fruit,
All temperate climates seem to suit.
America has loved me well,
As every boy and girl can tell.

Drawing of apple on limb for needlepoint or coloring

Apples in a basket, old photograph.

A colorful apple spray.

Peach verse and clip art...

Peach
I'm prehistoric, old as Time,-
In China I attained my prime.
They loved me for both fruit and
flower,
Confucius loved my rosy bower
Of blossoms, and I claim by birth,
My place as Queen fruit of the earth.

Drawing of a peach for needlework or coloring.

Vintage peach postcard.

Old-fashioned basket with peaches and plums.

Antique watercolor of peaches and blossoms.

Plum verse and clip art...

 Plum

"The eldest brother to the flowers"
They called me in old China's
bowers.
When first I bloomed in far-off
springs,
The nightingale with dusky wings
Poured music from my moon-white
tree,
And maidens oft were named for
me.

Drawing of plums on a twig for needlepoint or coloring

Watercolor of plums tumbling from a fruit basket.

Many varieties of vintage or heritage plums.

Strawberry Verse and Clip Art

Strawberry
I came from some Andean vale
And grew so vigorous and hale,
That soon I braved the North-
ern air,
To far Alaska's shores I fare.
They used to string my berries
red
On straw, and thence my name,
'tis said.

Strawberry pattern for needle work or coloring

Old painted photograph of a strawberry basket.

giant pen drawing of a single strawberry

strawberries in color on a vine

black and white can illustration of strawberry jam