How Does My Garden Grow? Part II
Good news: my fig tree lives!
Last summer I bought a fig tree from the Flatbush Community Garden fundraiser held at Sycamore. My fig tree is a cutting from the Flatbush Fig Farmer’s tree on Argyle Road. I trusted (hoped) it would live–the original tree is local–but as spring drew, blossoms flowered on every tree but my fig. I’ve heard stories, secondhand, about Italians who brought the figs here. They wrapped them and capped them each winter, protecting them from the cold. I left mine, exposed in a clay pot, like a mother who doesn’t put a winter hat on her child. (I am that mother, by the way.)
Looking for information, I spotted a picture of Marie Viljoen’s fig tree on her blog 66 Square Feet. I commented that my tree showed no signs of life.
“Figs leaf out late and this is still early, despite the warm weather. Scratch the bark–is it green underneath?” she advised. It was–is–green! My fig now has leaves.
Of course it would have been easier to email the Flatbush Fig Farmer, Nelson. I got his email on a fig leaf shaped piece of pink construction paper when I bought my tree. I couldn’t do it; I didn’t want my introductory email to imply I’d neglected his fig’s offspring to death.
Once I knew my fig was alive I sent a positive email. I asked how to care for the tree in the summer. Nelson, it turns out, loves talking figs. I’ll soon be touring his backyard full of fig clippings getting ready for the next fundraiser.
Other exciting news from my Brooklyn backyard:
• I have a hot pink azalea hiding behind a hedge of green. They made me smile on an otherwise blue day.
• Two potato plants are a foot high while the others, planted the same day from the same seed stock, are barely poking their heads through the ground. It’s a mystery to explore.
• A squirrel—perhaps more than one—claimed my backyard as his (her?) territory. There goes a bundle of seeds I bought and even more that I washed and dried from my CSA bounty.
• Three black cats. Am I in for bad luck or are they squirrel hunting? If you are looking to adopt a cat, there are a few strays in my backyard longing for a good home.
• My raspberries transplanted well.
• Last year’s hydrangeas are strong and healthy. I bought a few more to line my driveway. The new ones look sick, and I wonder if they’ll make it. I need to learn how to make clippings from my current bushes.
