Local Bounty
It’s Citrus season here in South Florida and everybody has some. Here is some homegrown produce I have collected recently. From the left, Honeybells grown by a friend of my neighbor, Meyers Lemons and Everbearing Persian Limes grown by my college roomate’s husband, a Cuban or Catalina Avocado grown by him as well and Blood Oranges from my neighbor the Chef.
Homegrown citrus is radically different from what might be procured further north. I was taken aback by this with the first taste of a Lime from my back garden (Persian of course) Juicy, fragrant and magnificently Limey (not like the British) I wonder if the term limey comes from a British tendency towards Gin and Tonic. I digress, here is my newest Persian Lime. I am told these bear fruit 4 times a year – I planted this about 6 months ago and have had two crops even though my husband ran the weedeater too close and stripped the bark off. The tree had to be pruned andmoved in mid August for its own safety.
Persian Lime in fruit and flower
Here’s another thing peculiar to Florida, in honor of the end of the holidays I am posting a Christmas gift photo, yes, I had to ask what is was:
The Nautical Christmas Tree
Of course, the Nautical Christmas Tree was made in China.
Happy Gardening, I’ll be snacking on a Blood Orange.
The Shrub Queen 
I adore blood oranges, do they fruit more than once a year for you?
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December -January only, I had never had one until last week and actually thought it was a grapefruit due to the size!
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“Limey” comes from the British seamen taking limes with them on voyages to prevent scurvy.
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And Gin and tonic was medicinal also because tonic water was made with quinine which helped to fend off malaria.
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Thanks, John..hope limey is not offensive.
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Your plants are lovely, girl 🙂
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Thank you
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How wonderful to be able to grow so many different kinds of citrus fruit. I have a Mayer’ s Lemon which does very well in a pot. Obviously it has to come indoors for Winter. I wonder if any other kinds would be happy in a pot. The only problem I have found with my lemon is that it suffers badly from scale insect in the winter.
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My mother would grow Calamondin Orange and Kumquats in pots further north.
The plants never really lasted long, but it was worth the trouble for the scent of the blossoms in the middle of winter.
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