Silverman: Lemon tree very pretty

By Joan Silverman, Syndicated columnist
GHS
Posted Jun 10, 2008 @ 12:16 AM

Home gardeners are a notoriously competitive lot. They'll quietly wage war over matters of color, design, profusion of blooms - anything to outdo a neighbor's plot. When the neighbor is someone like my friend Judy, however, the exercise is all but pointless. Judy is the kind of gardener who, mid-career, left a cushy high tech job to pursue a life with plants. Though her scheme didn't ultimately pan out, it wasn't for lack of talent. Her diverse lovely garden sprawls around the side and back of her house, the envy of all who visit.

One of the plants in Judy's garden is a lemon tree. Last summer it produced very few fruits, one of which was sitting on the kitchen counter - small and green, presumably unripe. That was indeed Judy's position. It had fallen off the tree by accident and needed time to ripen.

I was not convinced. Looking at the fruit, I realized I had never seen a lemon like this - so perfectly round and small, clear-skinned, free of pock marks. This was no lemon, I declared; it was a lime.

And so began our long battle to claim the proper identity for this dubious citrus tree, whose job was now to produce for us.

True, I had written magazine articles about horticulture, and I knew something about the subject. But I was no match for Judy in this arena. We were on her turf, in every sense, and I clearly recognized that fact. Still, I was sure this was a lime we were dealing with, and $50 was now riding on it.

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