At school
we studied pistils and stamens
not plants in our lives:
that black and green pepper are not related
that peppermint and catnip are mints
that pepper squash is indigenous to North America
that a peck of pickled peppers will last a year.
©2017 Ontheland
A response to Kim’s invitation to write a quadrille including ‘pepper’ for dVerse Quadrille Monday, held every second week. The challenge is to use the theme word in a poem exactly 44 words long.
Ontheland 
How fun–all the play with botany and, indeed, the gaps in formal education that can only be filled in my the experience of living.
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I’m glad you felt the fun. Thanks Victoria 🙂
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Schools teach the terms of a theory. I agree there should also be time to apply it to the plants one is familiar with.
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That sounds like a refreshing idea. I imagine some schools today are more hands on than they were when I was a child. And now some have school gardens where children can learn about how vegetables and other plants grow.
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Tasting and learning would be more fun!
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Nothing like real life to teach you stuff ~ And putting one red pepper in your mouth will give you a nasty burn in the tongue ~
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Delightful words…have you ever pickled peppers? (I have not.)
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Thanks Lynn. No I don’t pickle peppers :)) Actually the only kind of pickles I make are the refrigerator kind with cucumbers or beets.
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yum!
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So much to learn, but when put in the pot it’s the taste that matters.
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Back in the days of real life learning Janice.
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I love the way detailed, serious study moves quickly to exuberance in your Quadrille, Janice, and the innocent wonder at the variety of plants – and the way you included ‘a peck of pickled peppers’!
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Thanks Kim 🙂 I am going through a botany phase right now with so many mysterious wild plants growing around my home.
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I love this!❤️ Such a cool response to the prompt 😀
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Thank you Sanaa 🙂
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Love the botanical information here…and exactly how big IS a peck? 🙂
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I believe it’s roughly 9 litres…. those pickled peppers would probably last me more than a year.
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Yes! It is all so clinical in school and it could be a time to get really useful information about food and living. Great point made in this poem.
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Thank you. I am glad you relate but sorry at the same time.
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This took me back to both Biology 101, and Peter Piper. Perfect.
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Chuckling at this…..especially that last line. Great take on the prompt!
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Thanks Lillian 🙂
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Oh, that would have made it so much more interesting and relevant – they’re definitely missing something! 😀
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But what of Peter Piper before he picked the pickled peck? Great read!
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That’s a good question 🙂 Actually I learned an interesting thing about Peter. He and his pickled peppers riddle are part of a book called ‘PETER PIPER’S PRACTICAL PRINCIPLES OF PLAIN
AND PERFECT PRONUNCIATION’ .
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Magnificent! 🌹🌹🌹😎
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Thank you 😎
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Great take on the prompt, Janice! Funny, the lesson we had on plants in Biology was my least favorite of the entire year. If the information could’ve been more useful in the real world maybe. I think I just learned more from your delightful poem.
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Thank you 🙂
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It’s sad how ‘school’ misses many opportunities to teach about ‘plants in our lives’. I read about some revolutionary ideas in the school system of having a garden in the school yard where children get to experience gardening first hand and cooking their own food.
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Yes I believe at least one school in Kingston has a garden. A garden offers so many opportunities for learning as you describe.
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