Is there anything more exciting for a gardener 
than to harvest lemons in the middle of winter? I brought these in last week from the greenhouse and couldn’t resist photographing them to share. Aren’t they beauties? They are called Meyer Improved. The Improved part seems to be a thinner skin, more juice, more sweetness, and fewer seeds. Can you imagine growing lemons in the Pacific Northwest? The Meyer Improved must be hardier as well, although we have made a virtual greenhouse within a greenhouse to protect this prolific little tree. (Lightweight blankets and its own twenty watt workman’s lamp attached to the pot—just enough to keep the tree warm, and the jerry-rigged set-up safe from fire.)
I bet you noticed these wacky bird place mats. These are made of paper and come in a package of 24. Who can resist these quirky birds–see the one with a strawberry on her head?– while you are having your morning tea and toast? They bring a smile no matter how grey the day outside. Please visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see what cheer she is bringing inside.
Dear Readers, I have started pulling my book of stories together. This is a very exciting time, and I’m learning at a fast pace. I met with an excellent developmental editor last week because the big picture narrative is still being worked out. Stay tuned….
And here is one of the first things I’ve learned: those in the know about blogging and books have told me that I can’t quit blogging while I’m writing. So much for my so-called Blogcation! Readers of this blog are too special for me to expect that you will necessarily be here when I have my ebook for you. (Because I know you are going to love it.)
In my last post, I shared the opening paragraphs of Katie and the Blue Buddha. Here are the closing paragraphs. What happens in the middle? Ah, that is the best part.
Katie and the Blue Buddha
It is an incredible thing when people show you different ways of thinking or being. It is an extraordinary feeling to remain open, always open, to the intense pleasure of whole-hearted surprise. Katie surprises me often by her perceptions.
Once when we were having a long-distance conversation about something, Katie sent me an email that said, “Before you read this, put on Rachmaninoff’s Sonata for Piano and Cello, the Andante movement, the part you said reminded you of friendship.
I am listening now to that sonata. The piano is talking to the cello and the cello is listening. “Um, yes…that is the way it is , isn’t it? The cello, inspired, speaks to the piano, “Oh, I can see that now!” Like friendship, the music probes, forges new pathways, goes to unmapped places in the heart. “My God, I would never have been able to see the world in that way without you.”
Then, the cello and the piano sing together and neither overshadows the other.
I know that life brings many people along each of our paths. Sometimes we walk alongside each other for years before our road, or theirs, takes a turn. But Katie is like a sister to me no matter what road she takes. We have been in more than one foxhole together, we have sacrificed at the altars of more than a few uncommon deities.
Katie is my mountain, and every so often I need to go there to scan the road ahead and to remember the road behind. Every so often I tune my cello for the sonata.
COPYRIGHT (C) Susan Troccolo 2015
See you soon. I know we are all chomping at the bit for spring. As for me, I’m going back into the greenhouse to put my head under the soft green blanket and smell the lemon blossoms. Does anyone else grow lemons? How do they do for you? I’m interested to know how other gardeners handle scale. I spend far too many hours with Neem oil and a toothbrush…
Wow, look at those Lemons!! Wowie! I think you know I have a young Meyer Lemon that’s just now starting to produce. It currently has about six Lemons that are starting to ripen, and it appears to be producing buds again. It struggled outside last summer (I think it was the shady garden and the neighbors’ Cottonwood tree that set it back). It’s really bouncing back this winter in the sunny sunroom. I might just keep it in there year-round, since I can open the sliding doors to let warm breezes through during the summer. Regarding the scale insects: Yes, Neem Oil with a touch of detergent seems to do the trick for me, too. Do you happen to know: When the Lemons start to ripen do they get any larger, or is that as big as they will get? Some of mine are rather small, but they’re ripening. Wow, yours look so healthy!
Hi Beth, I do remember your lemon tree! It’s pretty exciting to nurture a young tree into producing fruit. I lost three lemon trees in my greenhouse one evil winter and it took me a couple of years to have the nerve to try again. Then, as you know as well, it takes awhile before they really produce. What you see here is one of about six clusters plus individual lemons on the tree. They are pretty darned happy. I’ve been giving them away to friends in these clusters. I’m not certain about your question because I see that mine have a variation in their sizes. I do think that they should be fed regularly during the fall and winter when they are setting fruit. (Actually they need regular feeding year round, but I’ve upped it a little when I see tiny fruit on the tree.) Sometimes I’ve seen smaller lemons grow as they are ripening, yet some just remain on the small side. But even the small ones are loaded with juice. Glad you concur with the Neem oil + insect killing soap of some kind. Guess I just have to make the effort!
Thanks for the info on the ripening process, Susan. Good luck with your book. It’s going to be great!
Loved the begining, love the end – and am greedily waiting for the middle.
And isn’t the smell of lemons (of all the citrus really) wonderful? Fresh, invigorating, delightful.
Soosie, I’ve been meaning to ask you about the name “Elephant’s Child.” Elephants are my favorite animal on this wide earth too. How did you come about choosing that name? I agree with you about the fragrance of lemons. I can’t resist it. I even wear a “Blood Orange” Topnote as my own fragrance. Your comment about Katie and the Blue Buddha makes me think that I should include that essay in my book of stories. I really appreciate the feedback.
Thank you Soosie, for getting in touch with me about Elephant’s Child. Kipling’s stories…thank you for reminding me of that. I’m going back to reread his “Just So Stories.”
Hi Susie,
Love your posts but haven’t been able to see them due to our latest foray in the wide world, particularly Paris in Winter, lovely with hardly any tourists. Now, Raymond and I are mostly living in the San Carlos kitchen, as we have a new golden retriever puppy! Love to have your book when it’s done. Take care.
Hi Peggy, I heard about your new pup from Barbara—what fun that must be! But I do understand why you are in the kitchen a lot-:)) Part of what it takes to make a life companion, huh. I envy you being in Paris in Winter, my favorite time to be there. You can sit in front of a favorite painting with no one around, stroll the city in raincoat and jeans… I will be so happy to send you a book when it is done. Warm greetings to Raymond. Oh, forgot to ask….what is your new pup’s name?
Yes you’ve earned bragging rights with those fantastic lemons, Susie. Who knows maybe I’ll get me a tree and follow your lead.
I hope you do Grace, so we can compare notes. I’ll be interested to know where you keep your lemon trees in the winter. This latest contraption that my husband rigged up for the greenhouse has been the most effective thus far. The lemons stay warm, and the costs are low. Heating the whole greenhouse was becoming prohibitive and the trees were outgrowing the space.
You’re back! Woohoo! I have friends who are mountains,too. They are a vital part of my personal landscape. 🙂 Keep writing!
Hey, it’s pretty nice to warrant a WooHoo! I’ll take that. Please keep visiting. Mountains are special–they don’t make demands, have you noticed? With some folks…attention…must…be…paid.
That made me smile! Both the lemons, which I envy, and the discovery that you can’t not blog after all!
Har de har har to you too Janet! I guess there is no rest for the wicked…yes, there is a ton to learn-:)
Those are gorgeous and what lucky friends to be on the receiving end of such a generous gift. Makes me think maybe I should give them a try, esp. as Beth seems to be having luck and we live in the same area. But I am bad at feeding schedules etc. so … maybe not.
Why not give them a try? You can start with a small tree in a sunny window. Beth can guide you too. As far as feeding, I think of my plants just the way I think of any living thing–it needs food, water, fresh air, and a good spot to grow. Kind of like us. I make notes on the calendar about when I’ve fed such and such. It helps. Good luck to you!
Wow – there won’t be many people posting bunches of lemons today! That’s what makes it so wonderful to see and why this meme is so enjoyable – you never know what is going to appear from week to week 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing them
I sure thank YOU, Cathy, for being so flexible with the meme. My format is a little different, so I don’t post my arrangements each week, although ironically, I always have fresh flowers in the house. It is part of what give me a deep sense of happiness. Yes, you are right, no other Lemon Arrangements this week…isn’t this fun?
I grow lemons too, but yours look amazing! what do you do with them all? I make lemon curd, lemon marmalade but most and best of all, I preserve them under slat – so easy and wonderful in many recipes or on a salad.
Ciao Christina, I wanted to share this link with you when you asked what I made with my lemons. A few years ago about this time, I was crazy with missing the sun and so I had a “Lemon themed dinner” for friends. Everything had lemon in it, an Osso buco with gremolata, a lemon tart, a salad with Meyer Lemon dressing, and lemon cookies. You’ll probably get a kick out of the story. This year, I have a pasta recipe with crab and Prosecco and Meyer Lemon sauce. The other thing I want to do is preserve the skins for use in meat dishes. I hope it works out! May you enjoy this short piece:
http://www.culinate.com/articles/our_table/lemon_shine
Thanks for the link Susan, a really fun idea to base a whole meal around the lemons. To preserve the skins you can make preserved whole lemons in the Moroccan style. they are basically just under salt water. If you can’t find a recipe on line I’ll send you mine. I use them like this all the time.
The Meyer lemon is an amazing tree. I inherited one with the house. It sits at the bottom of a fairly steep slope and is often the only reason we have for making a trek down there. Here, in Southern California, it produces year-round and is always laden with fruit. I supply a few friends with lemons every month but still have much more than I can use. Last year, I cut bags and bags and left them alongside our road with a sign inviting passersby to take what they’d like – they were gone within hours.
You are pretty lucky to have inherited a tree. My folks live in southern California and they have always had lemon and tangerine trees. When I go to visit and walk around their neighborhood, I am in heaven with the fragrance of lemons—it seems everybody has one. You are a great neighbor leaving out bags! I just read this line in a recipe book: “Scratch the skin of a Meyer lemon and sniff. There’s citrus, but heady flowers too—narcissus perhaps, and a hint of Pine. Just the scent of a Meyer lemon, a low-acid cross between an orange and a lemon, evokes sunny California.” (I always thought it was a cross with a tangerine? Anybody know?
Man, those lemons are making my mouth water! There’s a neighbor down the street from me with a lovely Meyer lemon tree whose lemons just seem to be going to waste. Such a temptation…
I suggest an intervention. Clearly, these people are too busy to enjoy Life. How about en evening “Operation Lemon” under the cover of darkness. Or you could just take them a bottle of wine and ask for permission to pick. I bet it’s driving you crazy….a cook like you?
I love your Lemons. I heard that adding epson salt to your lemon tree when watering will help keep it green. I do have more yellowing than I like. Do you think this may help?
Klaus, this is a new one for me. I’ll have to look it up. Yellowing of the leaves can be a tough one. It can happen with too much watering (very often the case) or too little. It can also happen if you have scale and the tree is fighting off a disease of some kind. Next time you are out with your tree, look closely to see if you have ants crawling all over the branches. If you do, you probably have scale and you’ll have to blast it with water at first (to get rid of the ants) and as a next step, you might have to get out there with insect killing soap and a toothbrush and brush the scale off the branches. The lemon will thank you for it. Of course a good citrus food helps keep the leaves green too.
Those lemons are stunning Susan – well done for growing them!! What will you do with them? I would use them in a gin & tonic or make lemon curd (or I might make a lemon pannacotta, or cheesecake or …. so many possibilities.
Thanks so much Julie and thanks for visiting. I appreciate the kudos. It’s funny you mention gin & tonic because it is my favorite outdoor drink and we have temps that might reach 70 degrees today (weird!) I’ve never made a lemon pannacotta, although I would LOVE that. I do make lemon curds and puddings. Please check out the link below to see what I did with my lemons one year. Also, I’m not a fan of any kind of salad dressing other than fresh lemon, the best olive oil I can afford and sea salt.
http://www.culinate.com/articles/our_table/lemon_shine
Well you can cut your blogging to 2 times a month maybe that might help. Oh how I wish I could grow these lemons. I adore lemons and have 1/2 of one every morning in my first glass of water. I can’t wait for this ebook and I may pick your brain for some guidance Susie.
I was only blogging once (and sometimes twice a month), so this will be an increase. But we’ll see. I am going to try and share the occasional tidbit about how things are going because I think a lot of us “have books in us.” How are you doing Donna? We hear scary things about the storm.
I’m sure you will put these beauties to good use! How great that you grew them yourself!
Having a couple of lemon trees is such a great pleasure Bettyl. I have to keep them small enough to be in pots and go into the greenhouse in the winter.
Susie, love your flexibility about the blogcation! You are back and will fly out again. Spontaneously.
And don’t you find that certain acts of creativity cannot be forced or expected as if they could be produced?
Ciao Marisol, You completely understand the way creativity works. Plus you “get” me very well. Yes, I am not finding that anything can be forced in this project. The other thing I’m finding is that I won’t know what the book actually IS until I keep writing more and more. For example, I was NOT going to say one word about cancer, or at least just in passing, but it turns out I have some very good material in my notes during the treatment. Some of it is funny, some poignant–my signature combo. Marisol, I’m going to write you separately because Carmela has been in the hospital after a fall. She is doing very well now with home health care. Thank you so much, as always, for visiting. I love your comments.
Hi Susan, love the lemons. They remind me of a wonderful holiday we had in Italy where lemons grew in every garden and the air smelled of lemon – big juicy and sweet lemons, nothing like the waxed ones we can buy here. I so wish I could grow them but we can’t provide the right conditions here.
Thank you so much for visiting Elizabeth, and welcome. Your comment about Italy reminded me of visiting the Art Historian, Bernard Berenson’s home outside of Florence and seeing his Limonaia (I should check the spelling…) It was my dream to have something like that. Pots and pots of lemon trees on the terrace under the warm summer sun. We share a similar gardening zone with parts of the UK, and shouldn’t be able to grow lemons either, but I keep them in a greenhouse in winter wrapped in blankets with a grow light. I wanted to suggest to you that if you want to practically inhale the aroma, double click on the photos, and the pictures will enlarge!
I am a lazy cook and mostly enjoy my lemons for the heady fragrance as I pass the tree, and for the exuberance of the yellow from the large fruit. My inherited tree has very thick peel. Shared along to my niece and sister when they visit, and to our new neighbour across the road.
Waiting hopefully to see what the little lime will taste like. The very first one.
Hi Diana, thanks for visiting. I spent a lot of time on your site yesterday, just drinking in the new setting. That little lemon tree looks very happy on the terrace. I didn’t spot the lime, but will go back and look. I hope it’s flavorful. You know, one easy thing you can do with your lemons—even if you don’t like to cook—and that is make a great and simple salad dressing with lemon juice, the best olive oil you can find, a little squeezed garlic, sea salt, and a big of parmesan cheese. My favorite anyway! Enjoy your new happy home and good luck with that water feature.
Funny how lemons are so warming! These remind me so much of the sun and the sumer. I envy you that greenhouse. They must be reminding you so much of Italy and how they use them in every possible incarnation. Mmmm. Simply beautiful Susie!
They are warming aren’t they? I did a whole dinner around lemons one time during the cold winter months when we all needed a boost. The reason I wanted a couple of lemon trees was exactly that: they reminded me of Italy and also where I grew up. In fact, Christina, who has a blog out of Lazio (Rome)just posted a recipe for preserved lemons and referenced this site. I’ve printed it out and am off to try it. I’m anxious to use them in all kinds of dishes. Thank you for coming by to visit Catherine! I’m going to do the Rome piece (an excerpt) with your photographs in March or April.
oh! that beautiful bunch of sunshine on stems!
I love your tenacity to cultivate and protect them:)
Touches my heart so good:) Thanks for sharing the
loveliness….my mouth started singing for lemon
and now!
Bravo on your brave storytelling, too.
Cheering wildly in your corner,
Jennifer
Those lemon images made me drool!!! Gorgeous, vivid colors.
Hi! Long time, no see. Thank you so much for visiting. As another blogger, I’m sure you know that you can click on those lemon pics and have them enlarge…then they really make you drool! I hope all is well in your neck of the woods. I LOVE your name.
Beautiful lemons… it is refreshing just to feast on their bright yellow color!
Greetings Laura, Thank you for visiting–I’m so happy you did. The lemons continue to give me pleasure, especially at this time of year. When I first started growing Meyer Lemons, I didn’t realize they were typically harvested in winter. The first Christmas, I harvested twenty lemons…couldn’t believe it. May you be well Laura!
I’m so pleased you shared these lovely lemons with I Heart Macro:-)
You are quite welcome! I enjoyed your site and saw that they seemed to fit with your other photos…
Oh how yummy they look. There is something about the cheery yellow color and the thought of lemon summer treats that makes me smile. Especially with more cold and snow on the way..I think 3 feet is enough for now.. Michelle
Hi Michelle, I just finished preserving some of them to use in recipes. That was interesting to do. Now I have a huge jar of lemons on the counter top and I put weights to try to keep them from floating up. I’m glad you enjoyed the brilliant yellow. They sure give me a lift on our rainy days. It’s a pineapple express here, warm and very wet! I’ve heard from family on the east coast what you’all are going through…sounds like about ENOUGH.