For those of you who don't know - at our house we have what we like to call "The Farm". Todd LOVES to grow plants. But not decorative flowers, etc. FOOD! Which brings us to The Farm. Over the past year we've grown: various herbs (incl the most gorgeous Basil that was taller than waist high), habanero peppers, red peppers, lettuce, Swiss Chard, Spinach, pumpkins (whose vines totally overtook our yard!!), radishes, tomatoes, and scallions... to name a few. If you saw the size of our yard - you would be AMAZED!!

The plants that are still growing on the farm - Broccoli, a blueberry bush, a Calamondin Orange tree (they are the size of a cherry tomato, and the most SOUR thing you will ever try. But, they look real cute and this tree blossoms ever couple of months which smells amazing).

And my favorite... our lemon tree.

In January 2010 just after my grandma passed away I bought a lemon tree. My grandmother dealt with so many health issues throughout her last couple of years - but she sure made lemonade with the lemons she was dealt. So I bought a little lemon tree as a memory of her.

Fast forward 11 months later and my lemons were ready to be picked this past December! You read correctly - 11 months! But let me tell you, these were the most beautiful lemons you've ever seen!! No weird nubbins at the ends, not dirty and stamped with a company name. Just huge and beautiful!

I took the above photo of a lemon in my hands just to show how big they were! These guys were county fair prize worthy lemons!

Not only did these lemons taste delicious, but the smell was incredible. So fresh and lively!

I used them to make a White cake with lemon curd filling and lemon buttercream frosting. By scratch. Delicious. Where the recipe called for the juice of 5 lemons, I only needed the juice of 1 of my super lemons to equal the same amount. BEAT THAT puny store lemons!


So now that the lemons had been picked and eaten in December. That can only mean one thing come February-April in FL. BLOSSOMS!! If you've ever had the opportunity to experience the wonderful smell that is Orange Blossoms in full bloom, you'll know what I'm talking about. It is one of my most favorite smells in the world.

And my lemon tree is no exception to the citrus blossoms.

They look beautiful and smell heavenly. Our front porch already smells incredible with only 7-8 blossoms opened up, so when the rest of these little purple buds open up - you'll want to hang out on my porch for hours! Trust me!



So there's a little slice of our life! Our farm. And two of my favorite smells; fresh lemons, and their heavenly blossoms.

2 comments

1. noelle on February 16, 2011 at 7:54 PM

   i want lemons with no nubbins

    
2. UrbnVision on June 16, 2011 at 9:39 AM

   Wonderful tribute to her memory!