You can also custom-design your own pickling spice recipe. Much tastier than the kind sold in the store.
Cardamom is fun to use. Or sassafras or sarsaparilla. So are hot peppers and ginger. Depends on your tastes. Carrot spikes liven things up shapewise (but carrots turn the same dark red as the beets or a dull pink).
Some people like to add onions.
Parsnips might be interesting to can. Maybe with ginger.
You can use the cooked beet juice for coloring eggs.
Also, you can use a vinegar solution to can carrots or green beans. Yummy! — especially if the carrots and beans are still crunchy.
Georgina