Lemon Trees and Sherbet

From blossoms
released
by the moonlight,
from an
aroma of exasperated
love,
steeped in fragrance,
yellowness
drifted from the lemon tree,
and from its plantarium
lemons descended to the earth.
- Ode to the Lemon, Pablo Neruda.

The other day I was at Busch Gardens, and I noticed they now have a garden center in the park entrance. Why? I have no idea. But they were selling citrus plants...in boxes. Air-tight packages containing teeny-tiny lemon, lime, and orange trees were just sitting there, calling to me. I love the idea of growing my own herbs, fruit and vegetables. However, I've not had much success outside of herbs (my basil and parsley are doing fantastic, though!), but I'm hoping to turn that around.

We have orange and tangelo trees in our backyard that produce lots of fruit in the winter, and its always fun to pick off the ripe fruit. So when I saw an opportunity to add to our mini citrus orchard, I couldn't resist.

Our future lemon tree is just a wee little shoot with some leaves right now, but I'm hoping it will grow into a tree we can enjoy for years to come!

I cook and bake with lemons a lot, and I can't wait for the day when I can get them from my backyard instead of the grocery store!

I will, however, continue to buy my other citrus favorite, orange sherbet, from Publix. Maybe one day I'll learn how to make that from scratch!