Slimy_0kra, you have another unusual vegetable on the way. Two unusual veggies volunteer in my garden every year; Martynia and Litchi tomato. Both are rather anti-social plants (Martynia for its smell, Litchi tomato for its thorns) but I always let a few grow if they come up in an out-of-the-way location... and that is all that is necessary for me to keep a supply of fresh seed. I love unusual greens. Swiss chard is my main green for freezing, but my #2 green is kang kong (a.k.a. water spinach), which is a morning glory relative grown for its edible leaves & shoots. The first planting is from seed, but after the first harvest, I root & plant the stems. After two such plantings, the final harvest of the summer is large - that one gets frozen for the winter. This is a great hot-weather substitute for spinach; as long as it is kept watered, it thrives on hot weather. If you are unable to find water spinach, sweet potato leaves are similar... not surprising, since they are both in the morning glory family. Not all varieties are good for leaves, though; the best ones for that purpose can be found in Asian markets, where you might also find water spinach. Both can be easily rooted from stem cuttings. Egyptian spinach (a.k.a. Saluyot, Molokhia, Jew's Mallow) is another reliable hot-weather green. The leaves are mint-like in appearance, and very mild in flavor. When cooked, the leaves are mucilaginous much like okra, so they are good for thickening soups. They also go great with fish. All of the greens above have something in common - the more you cut them, the stronger they get. Moringa is a fast-growing tropical tree grown for its edible leaves. They are very high in protein, and also have anti-biotic properties. This is probably not a good crop for those with limited space, since the yield is fairly low... but DW makes a soup from the leaves which is to die for, so I grow some every year. Many years ago, I grew some in pots to over-winter; but it was a pain to move those large pots in & out, so now I just grow a lot of plants in the garden, grown as annuals. They will reach 4-5 feet in height by the end of the summer, and yield 3-4 pickings. This year, I will be trying Caihua, a tropical climbing gourd that is edible immature. I have also grown Achocha (which is closely related) and found it to be rather tasteless, so I am hoping Caihua will be an improvement. Bitter melon is a vegetable I grow every year; while we eat a little, we give most of it away to some Filipino friends. It serves other important purposes in the garden: as a wind break (the vines densely cover the trellis); to both attract & isolate pollinators (it blooms continuously all summer); and for the scent of the blossoms, which is very fragrant. Some years I grow Mexican Sour Gherkin and West Indian Gherkin, but not this year. Anyone who has visited the Bean Forum knows I am a bean fanatic, so if a bean relative can be grown to seed in my climate, I will grow it. I am particularly fond of yardlong beans, and grow several varieties each year. Someone on another forum sent me a hyacinth bean which, if accounts are true, could be highly unusual. Most hyacinth beans are climbers, and because they only flower in short days (in or near September) they will not produce seed in Northern latitudes. This one, though, is supposed to be a bush variety which will bear seed in Wisconsin... so I am really looking forward to this trial. This year I will also be growing a yellow mung bean from the Philippines, and a large-seeded reddish-brown garbanzo. And "Madras", an edible-podded radish. Probably a few more oddities, but I've been growing some of them so long I no longer think of them as unusual. Here's a good group photo from one year: I started a similar "unusual vegetable" thread many years ago, but it seems to have fallen off the cliff. Edit: Found it, link below Here is a link that might be useful: Unusual vegetables This post was edited by zeedman on Sun, Mar 16, 14 at 23:56

I've seen Nimbus and think it is a very special rose, and think it deserves to be as well known as Distant Drums. Comtesse Emmeline de Guigne' is not rare, but I rarely come across it in other gardens. I found a cream sport on a plant in a public garden and have waited 3 years for it to grow to large enough so I can propagate from it by taking 3 cuttings, and still leave a good amount of sporting section upon the sport parent. If I can get to that garden this January (I have an injury that keeps me from driving) I'll take cuttings from it, (I've had a permission letter, to do this for a few years now). The blooms are the size and shape of another Tea; Catherine Mermet, but the petals are glossy and cream. 'Cemetary Musk' seedling I bought this at the Sacramento Cemetary sale intending to use it in a white rose border, but I should have visited the plant in the garden first, my mistake, for it is a pink Noisette, not a white Musk. It is a fetching five petaled pink rose, with the regular re-bloom of a Noisette, and the foliage is so healthy and attractive that I regularly use it in bouquets, and it is still blooming now, ten days before Christmas. I left Celsiana and white Rose of York, when I moved, and though they are not unusual, they are rarely seen where I live near San Francisco, ca. Oh, how I miss them! Luxrosa

I have several red hybrid tea roses and most of them have done good for me. But the one that has all the attributes I want in a red rose would be Firefighter. Its only fault being that the first two seasons it didn't bloom much, but in its third season has become more prolific and I am confident this will continue to improve even more. It is very fragrant. Here is a picture.

I was married for 15 years before my daughter was born. Once I became a mother, I tried to be a "super mom" and do everything I thought a mom should do. That included baking cookies. Odd because I didn't raise her eating a lot of sweets, and she wasn't (and still isn't) big on eating sugar. But, I liked homemade cookies and like everything else I do (all or nothing), I took to it in a BIG way. I had never liked store bought cookies particularly, and when baking, if the recipe called for margarine, instead of butter, then I wouldn't even try the recipe because I felt like their standards didn't measure up to mine. Cookie snob. ;) I baked cookies and if they were really good, I added them to my permanent recipe files. I used to make cookie platters for my friends and neighbors at Christmas. Since I live in a super humid climate, and didn't have central heat, which might have helped take the humidity out of the house....always lived in very old houses...candy recipes could be difficult. But divinity seemed like it belonged at Christmas, but when I made it, it was more apt to be like marshmallow whip. This recipe is a meringue type cookie, but a little bit like divinity. (I said "a little bit"). I got it in one of those Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Cookie magazines that come out this time of year. Somehow or another, I lost the recipe, and I couldn't remember which magazine it was in, and over the years, some of the magazines had been tossed when I cleaned house. I searched for it on line for a long time, and decided I'd finally have to go on line and try to find the magazine, and buy it, but not knowing what year, I still couldn't be sure. One day I searched for it, and it came up! I am sure this is much to do about very little to most people, but I was really happy to find it again. Black Walnut Drops (I find black walnuts at Kroger.) 2 egg whites 2/3 c. sugar 1 c. finely chopped black walnuts 2 tbsp. flour In a small mixer bowl beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff. Toss the black walnuts with flour; fold into egg whites. Drop the meringue by rounded teaspoons onto prepared cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes at 325 degrees until edges start to brown.