A fig in September- is a find to remember.
My favorite fig tree is finishing up yet another bountiful season! Year 15.
August is the month our ’Celeste’ fig feeds both the family and every racoon within three miles of our woodland. These ripe, bronze figs are thumb-size and loaded with sugar. They make a mean upside-down cake and a good candidate for low-sugar jam.
My tree is no small shrub; it towers some 15 feet high with a spread of 20 feet. We enjoy gathering figs from our second story deck…strategically placed for ease in harvesting. It’s quite a circus when the critters discover harvest time at the Bost home. To date I’ve counted more than 10 species of birds (crows to woodpeckers) and numerous four-legged creatures, even terrapins love the fruit and wander out of the forest when spoiled fruit drop.
Other than the glorybower shrub(Clerodendron) a true butterfly magnet, a fig tree is a “must have” for any landowner looking to attract wildlife to their landscape. Or maybe not!
Clearly, the best reasons for planting figs is for their carefree, tropical foliage and their delectable fruit that follow on the heels of the blueberry harvest. A fig is a tree with an attitude.
Happy gardening!
