Finally, a garden update
So, I've been busy. Very busy. In addition to it being the busy season at work, Sam and I have been lobbying the city and the power company to NOT run transmission lines through our yard. As expected, this takes a great deal of time and effort.
As a result, I've been neglecting a great many of my yard chores. In Florida, this means that the weeds are getting uppity. On the plus side, most of my plants are also a little...assertive, so it's been a fairly even battle.
However, last week was the semi-annual plant sale at the USF botanical gardens, and the Rare and Exotic Fruit Council (aka the FrootLoops) always has a booth, so it's not to be missed (by me anyway). One of the neat features of the FrootLoops booth is that in addition to the plants, they also have exotic fruit james and fruit juices. Sam and I enjoyed some Guanabana juice, and picked up some more Passionfruit jam, as my passionfruits didn't produce this year, due to the cold.
As far as plants went, I got another Jujube to keep my existing Jujube company, in the hopes that I'll finally get some fruit; a Pecan because, even though I'm allergic, they're my favorite nut; several Gamboge seedlings; Some pigeon peas, because I've promised Sam some Toor Dhal; A mulberry for the birds, and in case I ever decide to raise silk worms and a Champaca for the Moon Garden.
But the real surprise this year was that they had Florida Cranberries. Now, I've been looking for these everywhere for a while now. The leaves are edible, but it's the calyxes that are used to make Hibiscus tea, and, more importantly, Sorrell Punch. This is a bright red Jamaican punch (can be made with rum or without), that was served at my wedding by the Jamaican caterer, and which I fell in love with. With any luck, I'll be able to re-create this drink for years to come.
Of course, that meant that the remainder of last weekend, and part of this one was spent planting the majority of my new aquisitions, because it had become a little difficult to traverse the space between the porch and the front door. I planted or potted up everything I acquired with the exception of the Mulbery and the Pecan, and also stuck another half-dozen banana trees and several papayas I'd acquired at my various FrootLoop meetings into the Monkey garden. I even managed to get the kiwi vine disentangled from the DragonFruit without giving up too much blood, allowing me to move the dragon fruit into a larger pot in a better locale. In the course of weeding, I discovered some seedling Surinam Cherries that had sprung up from the pits I'd discarded earlier this year, after enjoying the fruit. Those I dug up and potted to donate to the FrootLoops plant raffle.
But, it's not just all work, I'm also taking the time to enjoy the fruits of my labors. All summer long, I've been out shaking all the fruits I can off of my Strawberry tree, with its sweet, buttered-popcorn like fruits. And the first fruits off my very tiny Fuyu persimmon have finally come ripe, so I've harvested them and popped them in the freezer for Persimmon Cookies. The Key Lime has come roaring back from frost damage, and both it and the Eustis limequat have been providing me with a steady stream of limes for both Margaritas and Cuba Libras. Sam and I enjoyed some homegrown bananas, after it became obvious that the monkey wasn't coming to eat them, and the Eggplants have produced all summer. The tomatoes are setting fruit now that the nights have cooled somewhat, and the peppers and rosemary continue to be star performers for me. The Cinnamon Basil appears to have naturalized underneath the coconut tree, and the African Blue Basil is always buzzing with honeybees.
Last, but not least, the weeping barbados cherry I planted in the spring has set enough fruit that I'm ready to try the following punch recipe, gleaned from one of my exotic fruit cookbooks:
Fruit Punch
Equal Parts Barbados Cherry juice, Rangapur Lime Juice, Pineapple Juice and Ginger Ale. Rum Optional.
My rangapur limes aren't quite there yet, so I'm planning on subbing the limequats. In preparation, I also got a couple of pineapples on sale, and plan on using my vacu-vin to hollow them out, and serve it true tiki style. The tops will of course be rooted for future pineapples.
Next weekend, it's off the ECHO in Fort Myers, and I hope to post a complete report on that trip.
As a result, I've been neglecting a great many of my yard chores. In Florida, this means that the weeds are getting uppity. On the plus side, most of my plants are also a little...assertive, so it's been a fairly even battle.
However, last week was the semi-annual plant sale at the USF botanical gardens, and the Rare and Exotic Fruit Council (aka the FrootLoops) always has a booth, so it's not to be missed (by me anyway). One of the neat features of the FrootLoops booth is that in addition to the plants, they also have exotic fruit james and fruit juices. Sam and I enjoyed some Guanabana juice, and picked up some more Passionfruit jam, as my passionfruits didn't produce this year, due to the cold.
As far as plants went, I got another Jujube to keep my existing Jujube company, in the hopes that I'll finally get some fruit; a Pecan because, even though I'm allergic, they're my favorite nut; several Gamboge seedlings; Some pigeon peas, because I've promised Sam some Toor Dhal; A mulberry for the birds, and in case I ever decide to raise silk worms and a Champaca for the Moon Garden.
But the real surprise this year was that they had Florida Cranberries. Now, I've been looking for these everywhere for a while now. The leaves are edible, but it's the calyxes that are used to make Hibiscus tea, and, more importantly, Sorrell Punch. This is a bright red Jamaican punch (can be made with rum or without), that was served at my wedding by the Jamaican caterer, and which I fell in love with. With any luck, I'll be able to re-create this drink for years to come.
Of course, that meant that the remainder of last weekend, and part of this one was spent planting the majority of my new aquisitions, because it had become a little difficult to traverse the space between the porch and the front door. I planted or potted up everything I acquired with the exception of the Mulbery and the Pecan, and also stuck another half-dozen banana trees and several papayas I'd acquired at my various FrootLoop meetings into the Monkey garden. I even managed to get the kiwi vine disentangled from the DragonFruit without giving up too much blood, allowing me to move the dragon fruit into a larger pot in a better locale. In the course of weeding, I discovered some seedling Surinam Cherries that had sprung up from the pits I'd discarded earlier this year, after enjoying the fruit. Those I dug up and potted to donate to the FrootLoops plant raffle.
But, it's not just all work, I'm also taking the time to enjoy the fruits of my labors. All summer long, I've been out shaking all the fruits I can off of my Strawberry tree, with its sweet, buttered-popcorn like fruits. And the first fruits off my very tiny Fuyu persimmon have finally come ripe, so I've harvested them and popped them in the freezer for Persimmon Cookies. The Key Lime has come roaring back from frost damage, and both it and the Eustis limequat have been providing me with a steady stream of limes for both Margaritas and Cuba Libras. Sam and I enjoyed some homegrown bananas, after it became obvious that the monkey wasn't coming to eat them, and the Eggplants have produced all summer. The tomatoes are setting fruit now that the nights have cooled somewhat, and the peppers and rosemary continue to be star performers for me. The Cinnamon Basil appears to have naturalized underneath the coconut tree, and the African Blue Basil is always buzzing with honeybees.
Last, but not least, the weeping barbados cherry I planted in the spring has set enough fruit that I'm ready to try the following punch recipe, gleaned from one of my exotic fruit cookbooks:
Fruit Punch
Equal Parts Barbados Cherry juice, Rangapur Lime Juice, Pineapple Juice and Ginger Ale. Rum Optional.
My rangapur limes aren't quite there yet, so I'm planning on subbing the limequats. In preparation, I also got a couple of pineapples on sale, and plan on using my vacu-vin to hollow them out, and serve it true tiki style. The tops will of course be rooted for future pineapples.
Next weekend, it's off the ECHO in Fort Myers, and I hope to post a complete report on that trip.