landscaping

 

Eggplant - Long Purple

The Eggplant Long Purple-Japanese/Chinese, 'Solanum melongena', has a milder, more delicate flavor than regular eggplant. The Long Purple has few seeds and a thin skin that makes it easy to cook. Eggplant is a very international vegetable. The unique and tasty dishes cooked in Japan, China, Italy, Russia and other countries make eggplant a useful and tasty vegetable for your garden. Try eggplant dipped in flour and sauteed in olive oil, stir fried with bean sprouts, peppers, and tomatoes, or roasted and combined with olive oil, chopped onions and tomatoes. Long Purple has 8 to 10 inch long, 2 inch in diameter eggplants. Plant in the spring, 3 to 4 weeks after the last average frost date. Ground temperature needs to be very warm for seed to germinate. If nighttime temperatures drop below 60 degrees, the fruit will not set. Eggplant prefers rich, deep, loose soils with large amounts of organic material. Provide 1 inch of water a week if it does not rain. ... find out more

 

Clary Sage The Clary Sage, 'Salvia sclarca', is a truly spectacular plant with fountains of 3' tall flower stems. In addition to its numerous panicles of flowers, the entire plant releases a pleasant garden fragrance. The flowers are pale lilac, 1 inch long tubular blooms, with very prominent rose-red bracts on 2 to 3 foot tall square stems. The Clary Sage blooms in summer through early fall. Clary Sages prefer full sun and average garden soil. The soil must be well drained and not overly fertile. Plant this easy-to-grow plant in the spring after the last average frost date. Clary Sage is used for tea, and the fresh or dried leaves are used the same way as sage. The leaves are also used to make sachets and potpourri.