Sour Lemons

I am of the strong belief that no garden is complete without a lemon. Fortunately my brother, Fisherman Jim, gave me a Lisbon lemon for Christmas. Having done a tiny bit of research, it appears that my lemon is one of the primary lemon producing varieties in the world (well, if you call California the world). It is more productive than the Eureka lemon, and is more of a classic sour lemon than the Meyer lemon so common around here. The Meyer lemon is allegedly a cross breed between a lemon and something sweeter like a mandarin.

Here are some inspirational photos to get my lemon tree into action.

I'm not planning to stop at one lemon tree. I'll definately plant at least a couple more, possibly in the front garden among the flowering plants. I'm not sure about an orange. They tend to be rather disappointing compared to those grown in more tropical climes. Grapefruit (the hardiest of beasts) are not popular at all with my tastebuds, so I'll give those a miss. Maybe a mandarin and tangelo would be good. And a lime. Oh, and a kaffir lime for the superb fragrant leaves. I can see the vast swathes of frost cloth I am going to have to drape everywhere from April to November.