I spoke complimentarily of Oakes Daylilies last week or so, regarding their policy of slipping a little something extra into orders.  Well, we received our second order from them about a week ago, and when all was said and done, we have over fifty new daylily plants, in 15 different varieties, all for a very reasonable price.  So the front bed around the massive crape myrtle is utterly full of daylilies:
 

I don’t think we’re ever going to be the kind of people who rush to spend $50 for the newest trademarked variety to come out each year (well, not without 100 acres + lottery money), but $10 to $20 per variety (2 to 8 clumps per variety) is a great price.  Plus, daylilies multiply each year, which means lots of passalongs every year!

Other things making a splash out front are these spectacularly-colored strawflowers:
 

This is one of my Addiction plants.  When I find a new color I have to snap it up.  Echinacea is another example…I’m eagerly awaiting arrival today of FOUR new colors (Fragrant Angel, Tiki Torch, Tomato Soup, and Green Envy) from the ever-delightful Plant Delights folks.  That’s in addition to plain old purpurea, Evan Saul and White Swan!

Dominating the show out front are these hollyhocks:
 

Started from seed last spring they survived the hard freezes of January, are now about eight feet tall, and littered with hand-sized fuschia blooms.  Spectacular plants.

Blooms out back include the Don Juan climber that Husband so beautifully shaped a few weeks ago:
 

As rose afficionados know, roses take a pruning as a challenge, and immediately respond (in the right season, of course) with growth/blooms.
 

The mustard is blooming:
 

As are the dill and cilantro:
 

And most amazingly, the tomatoes that were started at the end of January are growing like mad, and – wait for it – blooming:
 

That’s the Carbon tomato, which admittedly has been growing at an amazing rate since being potted up:
 

Yes, I’m measuring my tomato plant’s growth.  There are worse vices hobbies.

All the previously sprouted seeds (well the ones who bothered to cooperate) are either in their secondary pots or in their final pots. The tomatoes are trying to give me some yellow-leaf backtalk, sincerely hoping the sodding soil we bought isn’t frickin’ killing them. Though it could be the universe’s insistence on raining right after we’ve watered the bastards.

I am perplexed by the melons… The pineapple melon is doing fine, putting on height and girth, but the tigger melon is just lying there, as if to say, “What now, boss?” Er, grow, ya dumb shit! No idea what its problem is.

The pea plant is completely retarded. It’s six inches tall and already putting out blooms and pea pods! I swear it’s like the Jamie Lynn Spears of the vegetable world.

We bought two trident maples (the only maple that will grown down here *sniff*) about two years ago from a bonsai guy going out of business and they’ve been in the ground getting fat and happy since then. Today we did some major pruning on the only one that is likely to ever be a pot candidate (though HUGE, 3 feet tall) and now have multiple pots out back containing cuttings of various sizes, ALL on hardwood. Let us pray to the rooting gods….omm omm.

The pariser market carrots were sown today, as were the tropea rossa onions, and the rossa savonese onions. Though I’m sure the TORRENTIAL FRICKIN RAIN has exposed all of them by now.

Almost through with all this, the kids discovered what we were up to and now we have pots going of birdhouse gourds (Boychild) and catgrass (Girlchild). *sigh*

Oh, reminds me (don’t ask how), I actually bought a garden journal this year, the main reason being that last year I didn’t record the start date of the carrots, thus had no frickin’ idea when to harvest them. Spent all summer poking dirt back to see if they were “done” yet. I bought this book through Amazon (they offer other states too), and to my utter astonishment, have been scrupulously faithful about keeping it updated. Ignore the homilies and cheesy quotes/illustrations and there’s plenty of room in there to record your garden doings on a weekly basis.

Aside: If you’re not watching the new Food Network show Jamie at Home, you’re missing out. Simple, straightforward, funny, and absolutely mouthwatering dishes.

And now Enchanted…yes, we missed it in the theater, for whatever reason (in two weeks, the reason is always going to be “gots no babysitting” *whinge*). From the opening credits, this movie is a complete love affair with Disney. The animation style, the characterizations, the details pulled from every single Disney movie thusfar, made it an utter delight. This one is a buy-er, folks

So, on February 3 I planted rosemary, oregano, serpent melon, tigger melon, sun gold tomato, both san marzano tomatoes, the cream sausage tomato, the topepo rosso pepper, red bell pepper, green peas, pinapple melon, and a pickling cucumber.

7 days later the pineapple melon, cream sausage tomato and gioia della mensa tomato had sprouted. 5 days after that they were sufficiently tall to have to be moved out of the sprouting thinger and into separate pots…where they immediately started to wilt. So, even though they were tall enough, they still required the humidity of the sprouting thinger. Solved this by covering them with clear plastic cups for a few days. Removed the cups yesterday and all three plants have their second pair of leaves and are making for the sky.

The sun gold tomato, sweet pea, and tigger melon sprouted 4 days later and have undergone the same routine as above. I finally gave up on the others that haven’t sprouted and replanted them.

We also gave into the kids’ pleading and started nine avocado pits in mason jars back on the 3rd. 20 days later a few have split in half and appear to be thinking about possibly considering maybe sending down roots. If they feel like it.

Purchased already in plant-form, were thyme, basil and sage, my cooking staples. They were planted in pots last Saturday and here a week later have already doubled in size. I may whinge about the weather down here but the plants surely do love it.

Today, because I am apparently easily swayed by the power of suggestion, we bought a Meyer lemon tree and a Key Lime tree (both 3 gals) that will stay in pots at least through this year, possibly permanent-like, again depending on circumstances. We also picked up a promising Japanese maple to start training for bonsai.

*sigh* We really need a greenhouse. And some land. *SIGH*

It does make for some extensive planting seasons, though, and in light of that, we’re already buying seeds to start in the spring (read: March). A made a huge purchase from growitalian.com and sent me some of the bounty, and I just made a purchase from rareseeds.com and will reciprocate. Here’s what’s on the garden agenda for this year:

• Red Onions (Tropea Rossa) – Very sweet. Gods, I love onions.
• Cucumbers (Picollo di Parigi) – A pickling cucumber, about 4 inches long. Mmm, pickles.
• Tomatoes (San Marzano Redorta) – I’m skeered of the whole canning thing, so we’ll just have to rough chop these, sprinkle with kosher salt, and eat as-is. Darn the luck.
• Tomatoes (San Marzano 2) – Apparently the premiere sauce tomato of Italy. Can. Not. Wait. To get my hands on these.
• Red Bell Peppers (Quadrato d’Asti Rosso) – Rough chopped and thrown into a batch of eggs/cheese/hot sauce/onions… *pant, pant*
• Carrots (Pariser Market) – These are ideal for containers since they make nifty ball shapes instead of long thin shapes.
• Broccoli (Romanesco) – A “nutty” flavor it claims. We are so there.
• Red Onions (Rossa Savonese) – Did I mention I LOVE onions?
• Peppermint – Despite it’s fearsome growth habits, it is a staple in our garden (and teapots).
• Rosemary – Chicken just isn’t chicken without it.
• Oregano – For use in the San Marzano sauces, of course.
• Broccoli – The non-nutty variety, I think.
• Melon Ananas – There are more varieties of melon, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy. This one smells of pineapple.
• Tomatoes (Gioia della Mensa) – I know, how many varieties of tomato does one garden need? All of them, kthx.
• Cucumbers (Beth Alpha) – A slicing cucumber. Did you know cucumbers don’t like to be transplanted?
• Paprika Supreme – These are the peppers from which you make paprika. You knew paprika came from peppers, right?
• Peas – I’ll get these kids to eat peas if it kills me. And eensy = cute.
• Red Rocket Peppers – This is the pepper you harvest, dry, and turn into ristras. Hello enchilada sauce!
• Tomatoes (Sun Gold) – A lovely little cherry tomato. I plan on eating these things like grapes.
• Leeks (Carentan) – Already planning some wonderful things for these lovelies…
• Peppers (Topepo Rosso) – A pimento-type pepper, very sweet. Mmm, pickles…
• Tomatoes (Cream Sausage) – As far as I know, they don’t actually *taste* like sausage, that just refers to the shape. But how freaking cool would that be if they did?? *drool*
• Tomatillos (Purple) – As A commented, “coolest salsa ever.”
• Tamarillos – A fruit that tastes like a tomato. Bonus!
• Metki Painted Serpent Melons – A cucumber-shaped Armenian melon.
• Tigger Melons – Come on, it looks fake! It looks like one of the Green Goblin’s pumpkin bombs. How could you NOT want to grow these things??

Yeah, that’s a lot, isn’t it. How many acres do I have, you ask? Er, somewhat less than half of one… Yeah, we’ve got LOTS of pots.

On the home cooking front, we got up at a stupid hour (for a holiday) this morning to start a 4lb pork butt in the smoker. In a little while it’ll go into a low-heat oven to braise for another 4 hours or so. Carolina-style bbq coming up! Here’s a good vinegar sauce recipe for the true North Carolina pulled pork sandwich (with cole slaw on top):

Carolina Vinegar BBQ Sauce:

• 6 parts apple cider vinegar
• 1 part Tobasco sauce (yes, it has to be Tobasco)
• finely ground black or white pepper (to taste)
• white sugar (amount to use = “some…” again, to taste)

And that’s it. I plan on microwaving it a touch before we’re ready to serve the pork, just to heat it up, otherwise it’s use as-is.

Merry New Year to you all.

Updated to add…

Convo just had via AIM with the Husband:

tedbronson2007 (10:35:03 AM): baby, what bird down here is the size of a condor?

Sekimori (10:35:14 AM): no bird

Sekimori (10:35:41 AM): or, the magnificent frigate bird might get close, but they do not come this far north

tedbronson2007 (10:35:40 AM): dragon then

Sekimori (10:35:48 AM): definitely dragon