It Only Took 5 Years But I Did It

When we lived in Altadena, we enjoyed a garden that had no parallel. The fruits represented included: peach, orange, plum, nectarine, apricot, apple(s), pears, lemons, and figs. Next door, our neighbors had pomegranates, meyer lemons, grapefruits and persimmons, all of which ended up on our doorstep at some point.

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There were cucumbers and tomatoes, too, until I ripped them out and planted 30 roses (I made a map so I would know what was what.) (I planted them in alternating heights so it looked nice.) (I also planted them so that nothing with strong fragrance was near a door or the pool.). The fruit trees were under-planted with herbs. It was paradise.

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But I never managed to grow Charles a lime. I planted a lime tree and said "For your Corona!" and then we waited.

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Bupkus. Nada. Rien.

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When we moved here, we celebrated a wedding anniversary where the traditional gift was flowers or plants. So I bought him a lime tree. He was underwhelmed, probably because he was thinking, "Sure, you talk a big game. But where're my limes, woman??"

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So this summer, finally - FINALLY!- I harvested a lime. Two, in fact. And there are several more waiting to come off the tree. It's all very exciting. They're big, juicy, and extremely pungent.

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Here's to achieving the goal of home-grown limes. Isn't it ironic that I managed to do it, at last, in this climate? And to think that the gardening experts at the Farmer's Market sniffed at me when I asked about a scale infestation last year. Phhbbbt! So there.