Figs

I've been showering my neighbors with tomatoes, and this morning I was paid back with these beautiful figs...


Figs are the myhrr fragrance of fruits:  you either love them with a passion or are disgusted by them.  It is a good thing that not everyone likes them--it leaves more for the fig lovers.

An easy tree to grow around here, unfortunately they reseed themselves; the volunteers are unreliable as to fruit.  A different neighbor's volunteer tree hangs over my fence and delivers fruits with the dryness and texture of upholstery--they are all fiber inside, and the birds ignore them.  This fig, while otherwise useless, acts as a trellis upon which the neighbor's huge bougainvillea grows.  I looked  up my neighborhood on Google Earth recently, you can see the enormous bougie as a hot pink splash from what must be miles above.

Fig as trellis:


Figs may be easy trees to grow here; the challenge is getting some of the fruit for yourself.  My generous neighbor's tree is under constant assault by birds, who carefully ruin only the perfectly ripe fruit.  Their tree produced so much this year everyone got some for themselves, the neighbors, the birds, and us as well. 

I'm guessing this variety is 'Desert King', which is described as having green exterior/red interior, with one large crop in late summer.  The lime green exterior combined with a raspberry pink inside is such a gorgeous contrast, you would think it was an ornamental flower, rather than an edible fruit. 

Last year I planted my own little dwarf tree, a "Brown Turkey".  It's still settling in and has not produced anything yet.  I'm ready with bird netting.

Young copy of 'Brown Turkey' fig:


While I was attempting to get a picture of our little fig, the nearby Plumeria was lit up by the sun.  Flowers were unnecessary:

 
I also noticed that the threadleaf Acer palmatum, 'Ever Red' is having a good year.  (Obviously the name 'Ever Red' is a gross exaggeration.)  The cool summer and rainier-than-average winter has greatly helped it.  I had not even noticed before.  Too many tomatoes, I guess.