Had a teeny weeny harvest last week but forgot to take photos. The harvest was the scallion and the Chinese parsley used in the Coral Shrimp I posted on 2/8.
The scallions are from my windowsill garden and the Chinese parsley from my backdoor garden.
Few weeks ago, I needed more scallion for a recipe than my window sill pots could supply so bought a bunch at the food market, only to discover I had bought a bunch the week before.
Knowing the extras would rot if I leave them in the fridge, decided to plant them. They were planted a bit too close together in the pot but still they grew beautifully, much better than the stubs I planted the month before, and since I would be pulling whole plants as needed they will be OK.
Pulled up 2 plants for my shrimp dish, the remainder in the pot are growing happily on the windowsill (above left photo).
From now on, if not using right away, I will plant my scallions into pots as soon as I bring them home from the market. If the dish calls for whole plant, I will pull up what is needed, if only green part is needed, I will snip off the outer leaves and the remaining plant will continue to grow and produce. No more spoilt scallion to deal with.
Spent a good part of last week stressed out over winter storm Nemo, cancelled all my jobs; my friends decided to postpone our Chinese New Year get together (wise call).
Fortunately my area was not hit as badly as some other areas, only about 12 inches of snow, did not lose power nor sustained and damage.
Still I needed something to cheer me up so decided to post some photos taken last summer.
I posted photos of my tree peonies on 6/1/12, and was going to follow up with a post of my herbaceous peonies but somehow never got around to it. Better late than never, here are some of them (you may need to click on photos to enlarge).
Hope you enjoyed my modest collection.
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Copyright © by Norma Chang. All Rights Reserved. Do not use/repost any photos and/or articles without permission.
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Garden to Wok 
Beautiful peonies! Happy New Year, Norma.
Hello Angie,
Thanks. It would be nice if I could look out my kitchen window and see the real thing in the garden, but alas, the grounds are covered with about 12 inches of snow and will be awhile before I see grass.
The peonies are a nice way to celebrate Valentine’s Day this week!
Hello Leduesorelle,
That’s right, Valentine’s Day is Thursday, double celebration.
Thanks for posting the eye candy of all those beautiful blooms. Certainly a bright spot when the weather is being decidedly wintery in your area of the US.
Hello Laura,
You are so welcome. Expecting another storm the weekend.
What a great idea Norma, I usually chop up my scallions and put them in a baggy in the freezer; not as good as fresh, but in a pinch it’s OK. I am in the market for an indoor garden that doesn’t use earth (I have a slight bug phobia!). I spend way too much money on herbs in the winter!
Thanks for the pics of the peonies, they are beautiful. It’s a warmish but horribly grey day in Toronto and it’s raining. But sadly we’ll need at least a weeks worth of rain and warm temperatures to melt the incredible amount of snow we were hit with on Friday. Not pretty at all.
Hello Eva,
I already have scallion in the freezer and did not want to add more since they have limited use. Usually plant the stubs but knowing that the whole scallion I had on hand would rot any way decided to plant them in potting mix to see how they would do, figure nothing to lose, something to gain.
I do not use earth in my indoor garden, use instead a soilless potting mix, many on the market, the one I prefer is Pro-Mix.
We are going to get hit again this coming weekend, hope the weatherman is wrong.
Norma do peonies have a special significations to the Chinese in some way, they are use so often
in their art. I wonder if I can grown them in NC, it will be hard to leave my collection behind.
Happy Gardening, be safe in this new ice storm too
Hello Kim,
Not sure about the special significations but it is admired for its beauty and medicinal uses.
The only way to find out if they will grow in NC is to try, but how are you going to get them out of the ground this time of year?
Keep forgetting to let you know you need to fix your URL, it is showing as http:pokeytownKim3 and when I click on it I get an error message that reads “Not Found”
That’s the best idea ever about planting the scallions. Since I didn’t realize it would work, it never occurred to me to treat them that way. I’ve had too many turn to liquid in my fridge because I forgot they were there!
Hello Pooks,
Know what you mean by “turning to liquid”. You can also plant just the stubs and they will grow also.
Peonies are so beautiful. It’s a shame our peony season is so short.
Hello Mary,
I know, and if it rains during that period the season is even shorter.
Peonies are so beautiful and one of my favorite flowers – nice way to brighten up a dreary winter day Norma!
Hello Alyssa,
I needed these flowers, even though they are photos, to brighten my winter days, expecting another winter storm this weekend, so says the weatherman.
Norma, your peonies are beautiful! I glad you were ok with the storm – it’s looking very white outside your window! My mother often buys scallions, uses the green and plants just the bottoms – they always grow new shoots. x
Hello Celia,
Thanks. We are covered with about 12 inches of snow and another winter storm is forecasted for this weekend.
I plant the scallion stubs too but I now discovered that planting the whole plant and just clipping the outer leaves is even better.
Your peonies are stunning, Norma. What a fine collection. And you are so clever growing scallions in your kitchen! xx
Hello Charlie,
Thanks, unfortunately they do not last very long. This is one of my experiments that proved to be very rewarding.
I love peonies Norma. They always remind me of my grandma and that makes me smile. I had no idea you could just plant scallions! That is a great idea. Whenever I buy a bag I end up throwing most of them out as I usually only use a few at a time. Planting them is a much better solution! Glad you weren’t hit with too much of the snow. The pictures on TV have been incredible!
Hello Kristy,
Glad the peonies brought back memories of your grandma and made you smile.
If you use only the green part of the scallion and is left with a stub, you can plant the stub also (it should have roots) and it will grow new greens.
We had about 12 inches, light compared to other locations. Another winter storm is in the forecast for the coming weekend.
Your photos of your peonies look so beautiful, Norma, and so nice to see this time of year. Fight snow with blooms!!!! Glad that you weren’t buried like so many back East were, although 12 inches is usually enough to cause major problems. Unbelievable that, with this storm, 12 inches was relatively nothing. Thanks for sharing your great idea about planting scallions. Waste no more!
Hello John,
Fight snow with blooms!!!!! Love this phrase, hope you don’t mind my stealing it.
Under normal conditions, 12 inches of snow would be a LOT, actually some areas of my lawn had a couple feet from the drift.
I usually plant the scallion stubs after using the green part, wish I had thought of planting the whole plant sooner, getting a little wiser in my old age.
I would not call these peony beauties a modest collection, Norma! They are simply beautiful 🙂 ! Few weeks aback I found i had not planted out two pots of scallion seedlings: too busy then, too late now. But they had filled their temporary pots which now sit behind the kitchen door: seem to grow at a faster rate than i can harvest them – so did some fertilizing and hope to be set with ‘freebies’ for another month or two 😀 !
Hello Eha,
Thanks. Isn’t it wonderful to have “freebies” when you do not expect it. Why would it be too late to plant your scallion seedlings? If they are growing I would still put them in the ground.
Thanks for the encouragement: have been so busy enjoying the 3-5 stems picked most meals that had not gotten further: warm soil for another 3 months, so daresay you’re right!!
Hello Eha,
You are welcome, 3 months is a long growing period, you will succeed. Pot some up towards the end of the season for indoor growing.
Wow these flowers are so pretty 🙂 I thought you only grew your own veggies I didn’t know you had flowers as well ~
Hello Daisy,
Thanks, yes, I have flowers also.
Although I don’t care for raw onions, I do make exceptions for scallions as they’re pretty delicious as garnishes. Your scallions look great.
Hello YC,
I don’t care for raw onion either.
I’m glad that you survived Nemo safely and warmly! Those peonies are just too beautiful! You really have a green thumb. They make me think of warmer, spring days to come!
Hello Tokyohamster,
Me too, except another storm is forcasted for the coming weekend. Spring cannot come soon enough.
I agree! We’re expecting some more snow tonight too. I can’t wait for spring picnics!
Not to be off-topic from your lovely post, but I just (finally) found some Kailaan, Chinese Broccoli seeds and I am hoping these taste similar to the greens I had at Dim Sum one time. Have you grown these or cooked with them? Thanks!
Hello Amber,
To kinda identify what greens you had at Dim Sum, if the flowers were white, the greens were kailaan also known as Chinese broccoli. If the flowers were yellow, then it is Choy Sum.
Cut kailaan to desired lengths, stir fry in garlic and ginger infused oil until reached desired doneness, salt, pepper and/or oyster sauce to taste.
You can also blanch the kailaan then toss briefly in the infused oil, salt, pepper and/or oyster to taste.
Thank you so much!!!!
I so wish I had a good window for light. But the one good window is our sliding glass door and its location doesn’t really lend itself to putting a lot of plants in front of it. It would be too close to the dining table.
Hello Daphne,
I am fortunate that I have quite a few sunny windows.
Such beautiful flowers Norma! I love peonies and yours are gorgeous. That’s good tip about the scallions..I always find mine getting slimy because I don’t use them up fast enough. I should just plant them.
Nazneen
Hello Nazneen,
Thanks. Glad you will be able to use my scallions tip. Thanks also for visiting.
Your peonies are absolutely stunning, Norma! And what a great idea to plant your scallions from the store and pull them when needed. I’ve wasted so many! Happy New Year and Happy Valentine’s Day!
Hello Betsy,
Thanks, they were beautiful. I wasted my share of scallion before I thought of planting them. Happy Valentine’s Day to you too.
Your photos from last summer have certainly brightened my day Norma. How lovely it must be to have home-grown scallions for your dishes. I made your Shrimp and Snow Pea stir fry on the weekend and it was delicious — but your coral shrimp looks lovely too. I’ll tuck that recipe away for next time. I have to say that after making a number of dishes on the weekend, I’m really hooked on Chinese food Norma. I can’t wait to go to Chinatown and stock up on more dishes and utensils!
Hello Barb,
Glad the peonies photos brightened your day, imagine there is still piles of snow around. Your Chinese New Year feast sounds delicious. I think the Ponytails will like the Coral Shrimp. Happy shopping.
Your peonies are so pretty…thank you so much for sharing all these pretty pictures Norma.
Hope you are enjoying your week!
Hello Juliana,
Thanks, they are spectacular in bloom and fragrant too.
Wow, beautiful peonies! The pictures look great! Thanks for sharing!
Hello Alaine,
Thanks and you are welcome. Hope you are doing well. I will be posting a GD & DF recipe tomorrow.
Peonies are one of my favorite flowers. I wish there was a scratch and sniff computer screen as I know that your whole house must smell gorgeous!
Hello Bam,
You are not going to believe this, due to allergies, I cannot have flowers inside the house.
Hello Norma, I am trying to leave a comment. Are they going through? Happy CNY and take Care, BAM
Hello Bam,
Yes, your comments came through as spams but I have taken care of that. I am not receiving e-mail notification of your new posts though.
Happy Chinese New year to you too.