Pattypan

This spring I planted my first ever summer squash, a white pattypan variety. I usually prefer more flavorful winter squash than summer squash, but I have been using create ways to "sneak" pattypan fruits into our meals.

Unlike winter squashes, which produce fruits off of trailing vines, the pattypan has been growing vertically in a shrub-like form.

The fruits begin growing facing up, then droop to the ground when they are ready to harvest.

This morning, bumblebees were slow to warm after a cool night.

This one must have covered herself in pattypan pollen before it became to cold to fly, forcing her to spend the night on the leaf.

This bumblebee camped out near the stamen of a male squash flower.

Female pattypan flowers are just as bright as the males.

The have a branched stigma that collects the pollen from the bees.

Before they open, females can be identified by the small fruit at the base of the petals. The squash shrub shows no sign of slowing down, so we will probably be eating its fruits for weeks.