I Love My Lemon Tree

One of my long-standing garden related wishes was to have a couple of citrus trees. Most of all I wanted a lemon tree. About seven years ago my wish came true: my parents gave me a Meyer lemon tree as a birthday gift. I planted it happily and waited for the fruit. Three years the tree stood there not giving me a single lemon. I guess citrus trees need time to acclimate to new surroundings. 

The fourth year however, my lemon tree started bearing fruit, and every year since, its branches have been heavy with giant succulent lemons. Sometimes I have to pick some of them before they are ripe in order to prevent their heavy weight breaking the fragile branches.

There is no lemon quite like a home-grown lemon. The skin is much thinner than that of the supermarket variety, and the inside holds about twice as much juice as a store-bought lemon of the same size.

I use lemons in my cooking, but my favorite way is to put a thin slice into a glass of sparkling water. I add a sprig of mint (also grown in my garden) and some ice and voila, the perfect drink.

For the children I make lemonade. I can think of no better drink on a hot Hawaiian Sunday afternoon, and besides tasting delicious it is of course much healthier than anything you can buy in a store. 

So of course I love my little lemon tree and the delicious organic fruit it bears. We also have a tangerine tree but it is yet to produce anything. Hopefully next year will be the year!