“No way!  Think of all the colors you see in print – they can’t be all natural.” He was smirking; I was searching for a rebuttal.

“What else would they be?” I asked.  “How could humans develop a color that doesn’t first exist in the natural world?”

It was as close to a philosophical debate as I got in high school, but it is a conversation that has stuck with me all these years.  Does every color we see (on tv, in print, on terrible fashion accessories) have origins in the natural world?  I say yes.  Tropical fish alone must have about 85% of the spectrum covered.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this debate as I watch tomatoes in my garden turn from green to bright red in a matter of days.  Isn’t every passing moment of their growth a different shade of color?

Today, I am grateful for all the different shades of color in my garden.