The Dream Tree(m)

I was just upstairs getting a cup of coffee and looking through the food section of our local paper.... which got me thinking of my top three trees I'd like to grow.

1. Meyer lemon. Nothing sounds as fresh and fun as growing this tree in the house. Maybe that's because Rachel has always talked so fondly about them and how Chez Panisse has a meyer lemon this and a meyer lemon that. It just makes me drool everytime I hear about it. Meyer lemons are a lower acid and sweeter version of the ones you find in the grocery store. They are typically from California and produce fruit from now to late spring. Added bonus: finding meyer lemons in stores is hard unless you go to the fancy grocery stores where they're more expensive. Imagine the joy pulling one of these sweet fruits off your very own tree, for free.

2. Fig. I think its because I didn't get that one off of craigslist. I have never bought figs at a grocery store and haven't been really exposed to them much beyond fig newtons as a kid. I learned more about them from the restaurant... stuffing them with goat cheese and then wrapping them with prosciutto. Baked until warm and put over a salad... yum. Again, rachel talks about northern california's use of them when the season hits. I've been in Tucson. I have not experienced their season and think it would be really fun to have one of these trees. Something you just wouldn't expect to see. Now that's fun.

3. Bay Tree. I had one in Tucson. The thought of fresh bay leaves from tree to soup pot is divine. Alas, I am sad mine got infested with scale beyond help. I tried to save it. Really I did. I did the alcohol thing. Wiping it down with cotton balls by hand on weekend mornings as I drank my coffee. Seeing the bugs come back a few days later. I did the poison thing too, which is why I never gave Misch any leaves (poison tastes bad in soup, I would imagine). But the infestation was too much. It died this past summer. I feel guilty that it is dead. He was my friend.

The thought of these new friends entering my life brightens my day. I am excited to scout around for them at nurseries. I am excited to plant them in large pots and put them around the house... the dining room, the office. Take them on the back porch with me on spring days for some fresh air. Actually, just the presence of trees indoors makes it feel like springtime. Hmmm, now how to convince Ken...

Curious of other people's top three. They don't have to be food-producing -- I just can't get away from the love of plants that produce edible gems.