Before & After

I can't help but notice that this time of year, there's a lot of talk about resolutions and a lot of inspirational before and after pictures floating around. I don't have any resolutions, well okay, I do have a few (but they're not official or anything like that. It's not like I told anyone or announced it. I mean then if I don't stick to it, then what?). Just the usual, weed the garden more this summer (possible), start fewer seedlings this winter so I don't have to find homes for them come spring (not likely), and of course as always, eat fewer cookies (yeah, right!).

The before shot. The bumble bees like these blossoms as well.

If you've been following along since the summer, you may recall Miss Lemontree had some cute little fruits starting back in June and July. It's been a long wait, but winter is the time for citrus after all. Here's Miss Lemontree back on December 3. See her fruits are starting to turn yellow at long last! Well, I got all excited about the possibility of celebrating the new year with some fresh homegrown lemons. Didn't exactly happen that way.

December 3, lemons are starting to ripen!

It took a little longer than that to get ripe, but it did finally happen. This is very exciting in the dead of winter. There may be snow outside, but inside it's a balmy 70 degrees and Miss Lemontree is in her winter home in the sunniest window of the house, in our dining room.

Janary 14, we awoke to a snowy winter wonderland outside. Miss Lemontree watched the snow fall from the comfort of the indoors.

The final count? Eighteen lemons from this little tree. So far only two have been harvested. The fruit should hold better on the tree. Although, I must admit, my inner photographer wants to pluck them all off at one time and make a really pretty composition with the lemons. I am restraining myself, so far.

I've always loved lemons. I always keep a couple on hand to squeeze into a drink. The lemons I get at the grocery store however are common lemons, the egg shaped Eurekas and Lisbons. Miss Lemontree is actually a sweet lemon, not really sweet, just a classification, for this less acidic type. She is a Meyer lemon. Her fruits are smaller, rounder, with smoother thinner skin. A sniff of the lemon's skin reveals hints of the blossoms they emerged from, very floral, and reminiscent of honey. The taste is not just less sour/acidic than common lemons. It has another quality to it. As I get to know these lemons better, I'll try to describe them better.

Another before and after I had planned to show you, is not something you'd want to eat, but still notable. Ferna is a beautiful Boston Fern once belonging to my neighbor across the street. A couple years ago, she stayed on my front porch while my neighbors were away. She was a huge beautiful plant. I remarked that I would like to get one for myself as she fit so well into the landscape. Well, my neighbor came back, and Ferna went back to her rightful home. Next time my neighbor went away, she asked her son to watch Ferna, and Ferna was a bit neglected unfortunately. My neighbor showed up one day with her and asked me to try to help her. I said I would, but I was doubtful.

Below you will see a before picture of Ferna. To the left is the pot she came to me in, to the right, the pot she moved into shortly after. You can see some little green fronds down below the surface, that were waiting to emerge. That was my first clue that Ferna could come back to her once glorious condition.

Ferna on May 26.

In July, she showed up on the blog as an extra, in this picture of Henry. She's starting to come back, but I cropped most of the bald parts out of the photo.

This is Ferna today. She's come inside for the winter. Getting some morning rays.

Each day Ferna gets a nice misting. Each week she gets a good drink of water. Now, I never had planned to keep Ferna. I thought she was only visiting. I asked my neighbor numerous times to take her back. But she just replied, that she meant for me to keep her. After awhile, I stopped asking because I didn't want Ferna to think she wasn't wanted. I must admit, I do like Ferna. She's got personality for sure. My niece who had taken care of Ferna while we were on vacation, along with all our other plants and critters, included Ferna on the Christmas card she sent to us. There's just something special about this plant.

Well, now I really know there is something special about Ferna. It turns out, she was named after my neighbor's grandma (click here to read more about it). Maybe I knew that and forgot, but now that I know that for sure, I'm not sure I should keep Ferna. I think she should go back to her rightful family and chalk this visit up to a little stint of rehab.