I mean that in a good way. Our no. 1 son is sick, and so we’ve been up at all hours lately. So, contrary to my usual sleeping-in-til-9:AM routine, I was able to make breakfast this morning and get outside before 8. I know, most people do that all the time. I don’t.
Anyway, all I could hear was three hummingbirds fighting over the scarlet runner bean flowers and this guy
hollering at me from the neighbor’s yard. No cars (I am an URBAN hayseed, after all). No neighbor kids. Even the chickens temporarily paid their respects to the scene.
Hard to imagine that in a few months it’ll all be bare ground and rain.
They grow up so fast. Sniff.
The two big veg beds looking particularly nice in the morning.
As the sun came up, this bumblebee emerged to go to work.
The stupid hummingbirds did this awesome dogfight over these scarlet runner flowers until the moment that I got my camera out and then… ZIP. Gone. Thanks a lot. Jerks.
My shiso is looking muy bien these days. If you’ve never had shiso, it’s great stuff. It’s called “beefsteak plant” and “perilla” in English, but it’s a quintessential Japanese seasoning. It’s got a flavor that, especially combined with ume (pickled plums), is really unique and refreshing. It often shows up in sushi. People sometimes grow the red stuff as a bedding plant because of the pretty foliage, but I think the green tastes better.
Finally, thanks to the people who’ve sent me questions. I’ll try to write up some answers in the next couple of days.
Sorry to hear that your son is sick. I hope he feels better very soon.
I have never heard of shiso before. I like to grow new herbs and veggies. Where can I get get shiso plants or seeds? Is it an annual or perennial?
OK, well, there ya go. That’s a question I can answer. It’s an annual, but it reseeds pretty freely (so I’m told, to the point of getting weedy). Of course, because I WANT to grow it, I’ve never had it reseed itself. It’s in the mint family, so that should give you some idea.
I’ve never had any problems finding seeds or starts at large nurseries– actual nurseries, not big box stores. You could always mail order them from somewhere like Kitazawa Seeds, but you’d probably find them in a decent seed rack.
As for growing them, the trickiest part is that they need light to germinate (i.e., don’t cover the seeds), and they like warmth (over 60, at night). Again, as weedy as they’re supposed to be, I have more trouble germinating shiso than about anything else. Go figure.
It also occurs to me that I could just stick some into the mail, if you like. I bought a couple big packets in Japan and brought them back with me. Drop me an email if you’d like me to mail you a few.
Thank you. That’s a lovely offer, but let me check with my local nurseries first. One of them may have it. Thank you also for the growing info.
Oh and thanks for the Kitazawa link! I found info about Shiso there and also signed myself up for a seed catalogue. I haven’t explored planting Asian veggies/herbs before, so this will be fun!