STORY BEHIND THE ART OF ROBIN MOORE

23rd Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists at Wave Hill

Red Warty Thing Squash Blossom

Curcubita maxima

On the path to growing heirloom Pumpkin ‘Red Warty Thing’ (Cucurbita maxima), a notably ugly variety, I was soon surprised by an unintended consequence in my garden. It was the sparkling transcendence from pumpkin bud to bloom that shook things up for me. 

The vine began with tender green leaves and a tight, fuzzy, white pointed bud. It was cute. The bud grew to be piped in dark green with veining along each side. The piping outlined the sepals, splitting to later reveal neatly ordered yellow fans. So far so good! Within a short time, as the bud size expanded, it warmed yellow and the accordion folded fans opened up, exploding like popcorn. Eventually it sorted itself out to a classic ‘squash flower’ format with protruding sticky anther. Within a few days it collapsed in exhaustion. But what a ride! All the time it presented more leaves, more buds, more tendrils and even bigger leaves (10 inches), that grew and protected the fertilized buds. 

Sadly, my pumpkin story ends here. The fuzzy, pale little fellows all soon rotted, one by one, and dropped, only reaching silver dollar size. So much for the very enthusiastic “easy to grow” sales copy on the seed packet. And really, I can’t believe my garden’s conditions couldn’t have produced something respectable. Was one ‘Red Warty Thing’ too much to ask for? 

Pumpkin ‘Victor’ was the original variety in the late 1800’s and was useful because it had a solid thick flesh that stored very well for months over the winter. The bumps apparently aided in this. It was popular for cooking. Perhaps its inability to be more prolific was its downfall. Or maybe it was simply sheer ugliness. 

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Read more about this artist’s work: 22nd Annual