Sarah, maybe we need some definitions. I don't know any place that sells garlic for $2.50 per _clove_. When you buy garlic (whether in the shop or elsewhere), what you get is called either a bulb or a head. It is composed of smaller parts, each in it's own wrapper. Those are the cloves. Surely you meant $2.50/head? Besides which, it's a one-time purchase, not an on-going expense. A typical bulb of hardneck garlic contains, depending on variety, 6-10 cloves. Let's do a worst-case math excercise: Variety X costs $15/lb. A half pound of X contains two bulbs, each of which contains 6 large cloves. Cost of seed stock: $8.00 For the sake of discussion, let's assume 100% harvest. You will plant 12 cloves, at a cost of .66 each. You will harvest 72 cloves, bringing the cost down to .095 each. Let's assume you eat 2 of the bulbs, and replant the rest. So, the second year you will plant 60 cloves, and harvest 360 cloves, bringing the cost down to .018 each. Repeat this process, and by the third harvest the cost per clove is a virtual zero (in actuality, .0035). I use three seasons for a reason. Not only does it show how little garlic costs, long term. It deals with the localization effect Tracy refers to. Most garlic has to adapt to the local conditions in your garden. Typically it takes three years before a particular variety reaches its full potential there. So what happens is that by the third year, you are growing the best garlic possible, at, literally, no cost. BTW, if you plant on 6" centers, you would still have room for 80 plants in the 2 x 10 plot. If you plant on 5" centers, that jumps to an easy 100. A note on trading: While there are no rules, the usual practice is to trade full heads, rather than individual cloves. And the trading quantity, most often, is two heads. So, for both quantity and quality sake, figure on the second season before you start any serious trading. But keep in mind that garlic heads tend to be friendly, sharing people, who often enough will just send you a head or two of a variety. Unfortunately, we (that is, those in the U.S.) cannot send garlic to Canada (it's classed as a plant). So you'll have to find folks up there to trade/share with. But, yes, it's just like tomatoes in that you can build quite a collection just by purchasing one variety of "seed."

If you want cold-hardy purples and mauves, just follow the advice of everyone here and you should be very happy. Look at Curt Hanson's web site and plants; Richard Norris has MARY LIGHTFINE and MARY'S BABY, to name just two purples; definitely don't forget Karol Emmerich of Springwood Gardens either. She has some real beauties in colors you'd probably fall in love with. John Rice has exquisite plants with many in the purple end of the spectrum; so does John Benz. I've wanted his LILAC GLOW for a couple of years and have just found a source selling at a great price. Steve Moldovan was known for his purples I believe. How's this one for a purple -- Jamie Gossard's 07 DRAGON FANG! A tad pricy perhaps, but no matter, seeing as how he's sold out of it anyway lol. (Scroll down under 2007 tets til you come to the third picture.) http://www.daylilynet.com/jamie_gossard_s_heavenly_gardense6.htm Don't forget Darryl Apps, of Woodside Nursery, mentioned by calypsogirl. He's retiring at the end of the 07 season but should have an online catalog this year. He may have some in the colors you want. Growers of cold-hardy plants: Rick mentioned Don Herr. IMHO, he produces fabulous plants for the northern gardener. On the thread here about best plant of 06, I mentioned his JOLLY GOOD FELLOW, which is described as a "burgundy lavender." And I said that one did so well for me that I ordered a couple of his 07 intros. There's also Clayton Burkey, who lives in Pennsylvania, but at a high elevation, in the Endless Mountains (?). Regardless of mountain name, he'd be a good source both of his own intros and daylilies in general. I believe he focuses on spidery ones, and his web site should be updated some time in February. Don Church is located in Maine, so you could check him out: http://www.bluehillcountrygarden.com/daylily_introductions.html I'm ordering a daylily from him that the Virginia-based hybridizer has sold out of. I probably won't even receive it until next June--but at least there's a high probability it will take my zone 6 winter LOL. Bret Clement is in Indiana, and he says on his web site he grows his plants "in open field conditions with no mulch here in zone 5, land of little snow cover and constant freeze thaw." Gee, I think I need to check him out myself! Carol Natte, Great Lakes Daylilies. I've never ordered from her. She grows her own plants plus the intros of Doc Branch. Gary Schaben, of Gardens with a Northern Exposure, who's probably best known for his NORTH WIND DANCER (?), has some beauties. Finally, Darlyn Wilkinson, of Greywood Farm, offers both own intros plus plants from a general price list. Whew! If you can't find anything to buy from all our suggestions, you simply are not allowed to call yourself a daylily addict!

Hey Bill, Sorry we haven't been able to connect this season been super busy or out of town. Actually the first time we met face to face I gave Gabby a 36" 3 tip cutting of JL Golden Pagoda that day. I did not forget about GP so we will have to try to get together this up coming season. I purchased my JL Golden Pagoda from HawaiiSandy in 2005, I believe I won it for 580.00 back then, now they are a deal at 89.00..usually rooted from Matt. GP does not perform as well as it does in Hawaii or Florida based on JL and Lopaks's pics. I am attaching 2 pics of GP blooming one in 70 something degree heat, and the other in 90 degree heat. Blooming in 70 something degree heat in costal So Cal: 90 degree heat during a rare heat wave: Hit me up next season bill and we will get together and Ill bring GP with me.

For those of you who prayed, thank you so much. We were able to get a 2007 Ford E-150 with only 8k miles for about $21k. What's crazy is that we ended up getting a much nicer van than we set out to find. It had been converted to a high-end interior, but a number of the wiring elements of the conversion are faulty, so they had to sell it at a much lower price than converted vans usually demand. Since we're having the interior worked on for the purpose of wheelchair modifications, it won't be as difficult for us to get those issues fixed. So, we have a crazy comfortable van at a reasonable price. Whew! The next step is the 6-10 weeks of modifications. Again, thanks so much for your prayers. Isn't God good?! ~ freshair