Lettuce Share

Rosemary – the überherb – is also a symbol of love and friendship.  So, where did my rosemary bouquet end up?  With my new friend Karen Leonetti at Earth Angel Preschool.  Earth Angel is a certified green preschool on Siesta Key.  Gardening is at the core of their curriculum and why I was so excited to be invited into their garden.  Here’s Karen with her cacao tree.

This tree will produce cacao nibs, which are organic, raw, dark chocolate chips.  She bought the tree at The Sarasota Fruit and Nut Society and was told that pollination can be difficult.  The flowers are not self-pollinators and the bees won’t help either; they rely on tiny gnat-like insects called midges.  Chocolate cravings can’t rely on midges alone.  Here’s Karen taking action; she calls it paintbrush pollination.

It was mouthwatering to walk through the garden and see everything from teeny tiny seedlings to the massive mango tree that shades half the yard.  Here’s some ripening papaya…

…and a Ponderosa lemon.

Ponderosa lemons can grow up to four pounds!  It might look like a ripening orange, but it’s all lemon on the inside.  The rind too will eventually catch up and ripen into the bright yellow color of a typical lemon.  Another giant to catch my eye was the Florida Sunflowers.  They had to be 25 feet tall!  This is my view looking up at them.

And here’s the beautiful bouquet I was sent home with after a delicious lunch.

Thanks, Karen, for inviting me into your garden.