I wish I could have a full-sized lemon tree. Lemons are so versatile in the kitchen and their scent seems to whet the palette while at the same time cleansing it. I don't have the climate for growing lemons, but right now my garden is bursting with lemon scented herbs. My current favorite is lemon basil. (If only someone would breed a larger-leaved lemon basil for those of us who are too impatient to pick apart all those tiny leaves.) My herbs plants are finally bushy enough for me to indulge with abandon and knowing how short summer is, that's exactly what I intend to do.
Do More: Lemon Balm Soda | Lemon Verbena Cocktail |Lemongrass Ginger Sauce
Photo: © Marie Iannotti
Comments
Marie – for a large-leaved lemon basil, try the variety Sweet Dani.
It is delicious and has done (surprisingly) well in my foggy San Francisco garden this year.
Jamera, thank you, thank you!. I may even order some plants to grow indoors this winter.
Lemon-scented herbs are fun, but I couldn’t resist the real thing. I have a dwarf meyer lemon growing in a pot (outdoors in summer, indoors in winter) and its first lemon is starting to ripen! It’s a bit of work, but something to consider if you’re a fellow lemon-lover. (P.S. I just bought the itty bitty cheap one from Gurney’s a year and a half ago. No need to buy a huge established tree.)
Jennie, good idea. I have a small Meyer lemon, too. Unfortunately, I have yet to have a lemon. It blooms well during the winter, but in the summer it just seems to want to stretch out its leaves. I even tried hand pollinating it this winter, but no luck yet. If anyone has any tips for me, I’ll gladly take them.
I have had great luck with my dwarf meyer lemon tree, grown entirely indoors. LOVE the lemons. It is now 2 years old, and has produced several… don’t think I’m doing anything special to make it happen, tho!
I don’t do anything special to mine to get it to set fruit, either. I’m sure yours will come around, maybe it just needs to grow a bit more first.
Patience isn’t a garden tool I have much skill with, but I’ll give it a try.
Since the plant is very healthy, I’m pretty sure it will come around eventually. But I sure am jealous of you and akwildflower. I guess that’s why I wrote about lemon herbs, lol.
Excellent idea! I follow a blog on posterous.com (rowenaprive’s posterous). One of the posts led me here. I think I’ll share this via my Pinterest boards.