At first glance these veggies looked artificially manufactured because of my visual expectation of them. With further reading:

“The market mash-up is a fun and easy project for creating eye-fooling displays when a vegetable’s foliage doesn’t match up to the beauty of the vegetable itself (and vice versa). While playing with different ways to display our market finds we started “hybridizing” our veggies by combining carrots with bean “leaves” and onions sprouting watercress tops. A row of these unique combinations down the table or lined up on the sideboard makes a conversation-starting centerpiece. We had these on display in the shop earlier this week and they definitely turned some heads! We kept our mash-ups somewhat realistic looking but this could be a fun project to work on with kids who are sure to come up with some really wacky combos. The food doesn’t go to waste either, just plan to cook your arrangements the next day.”

These visual tricks involve a whole new way of arranging table adornments. I find the suggestion to subsequently cook your arrangements the next day to be interesting and so different from how you normally dispose of your floral bouqets. The carrots are so different I can’t help keep looking at them! I suppose that is the goal :) I wonder if there are some fruit/vegetables that enhance with a good pre-soak. If so, it’s nice to think about the crisping process to double as visual enjoyment.