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What Is Reuben Blackberry? Taste, Harvest Season, and Growing Guide
I first mistook this blackberry's name for a raspberry cultivar, but research showed it's actually a patented blackberry developed by the University of Arkansas. Thanks to its primocane trait, it fruits on a new cane every year.
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Is Kousa Dogwood Fruit Edible? Taste, Seeds, and Ornamental Value
I planted Cornus kousa after finding it listed as an edible plant on PFAF, and got my first fruit this year. It turned out very seedy - but its ornamental value in the garden is beyond question. Origin, taste, care, and cold hardiness, all here.
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What Is Myrtle (Murt)? Growing, Uses, and Harvest Time
I planted this fragrant Mediterranean shrub in my garden. From its origin to my experience in Sakarya, from fruit taste to cold hardiness - everything you need to know about myrtle.
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Che Fruit Has Ripened: The First Harvest of the Bumpy Pink Fruit
The fruit on our che tree (Maclura tricuspidata) ripened this year, and we started picking and eating it. It tastes somewhere between mulberry and fig, with a sweet, juicy interior hiding under that bumpy red skin.
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Chinese Yam: The Vine's Real Identity - Not Apios, But a Cinnamon-Scented Yam
I initially mistook this vine for Apios, but its real identity turned out to be Chinese Yam (Dioscorea polystachya). The bead-like growths in the photo aren't dug from soil - they're aerial bulbils forming at the leaf axils. It's an interesting edible plant, but one that also needs careful handling.
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Black Madeira Fig: Its First Fruit, But It Couldn't Ripen This Year
Our Black Madeira fig tree gave its first fruit this year, but it couldn't ripen because of rainy, cool weather. Researching the cultivar helped me understand why - it wants a late, warm season. We'll see if it delivers next year.
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Giant Elephant Garlic: Not True Garlic, But the Garden's Giant Star
These massive cloves coming out of our garden are elephant garlic. Botanically it's actually closer to leek than true garlic, and that's exactly why its flavor is so much milder and sweeter.
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Sari Lop Fig: Our Native Fig That Shines When Dried, Not Fresh
Being honest about Sari Lop fig: I didn't love its fresh taste, and it cracked quickly after a bit of rain. But that just means we were looking for this treasured native Turkish fig's real talent in the wrong place - because Sari Lop's true strength isn't fresh, it's dried.
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Italian 258: One of the Most Beautiful Figs Added to the Collection
Italian 258 gave its first fruit while still a tiny sapling, and it's now joined our fig collection. The deep red flesh revealed when we cut open that first fruit immediately explained why this variety is so loved among fig collectors.
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Jujube Harvest Has Begun: Li Abundant, Chico Few But Incredibly Delicious
Jujube harvest has begun this year. Both Li and Chico cultivars fruited, but very differently - Li was abundant enough to weigh down the branches, while Chico gave only a handful of fruit, though that handful was incredibly delicious.
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Miljska Fig: The Sapling I Brought From Montenegro and Planted in My Garden
I brought this sapling back from my trip to Montenegro and planted it in my own garden, and now I'm harvesting from my own tree. As I researched it, this deep purple fig's name turned out to carry an unexpected story and a tricky identification process.
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Ravika Fig: The Taste Serdivan Carried Across a Bridge of Memory
We've been harvesting from this tree for two weeks and still can't get enough. But Ravika fig isn't just a delicious fruit - it's a name woven into Serdivan's identity, carrying the story of a migration.
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Batumi Pear: A Regional Delicacy Passed Down From the Caucasus Migration
This year, we made our final harvest from this tree. Batumi pear is known in my family as a regional delicacy, a pear variety that takes its name from the city of Batumi in the Caucasus.
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Pink Lady (Cripps Pink): The Late-Ripening Pink Apple in My Garden
I caught this apple on my tree at an early stage - the pink patches scattered over a green-yellow background and the late ripening timing pointed me toward Pink Lady. There's no confirmed nursery tag, but the visual and seasonal fit is quite strong.
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Kadi 77: Yalova's Registered Early Summer Pear
This pear sapling I got from Yalova Tarim is Kadi 77 - an early summer pear cultivar registered by the Yalova Ataturk Horticultural Research Institute. The first fruits in my garden stayed yellow, but the flavor is genuinely good.
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Vitis vinifera Alphonse Lavallée: The Purple Pearl of the Garden
With its large purple-pink berries and intense aroma, Alphonse Lavallée grape is one of the most spectacular fruits in our garden. Late August harvest, its flavor comparable to nothing in the store.
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Italia (Muscat) Grape: The Aroma That Solved My Garden's Variety Puzzle
My garden has a few different grape varieties - Atasarisi, Alfonso, Red Globe, and a fragrant Italian type - and I wasn't sure which one a particular cluster belonged to. The berry shape and that signature muscat aroma solved the puzzle: it's Italia.
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Golden Delicious Apple: The Least Troublesome Variety in My Garden, the Only Tree I've Never Seen a Worm In
Every apple variety in my garden struggles with worms to some degree, but I've never seen one in my Golden Delicious. Is this just luck, or does the variety have a trait behind it? Let's look at both its history and this observation together.
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Bay Laurel: Growing a Tree from Seed That Carries the Scent of the Mediterranean
The bay laurel I grew myself from seed is classically thought of as a Mediterranean-only tree, yet it thrives in my garden without any trouble. It's a remarkably versatile tree, opening doors from the kitchen to soap-making, from history to permaculture.
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Malus domestica Fuji: The Sweetest Apple of the Garden
With its green to pink-red color transition, intense sweetness and juiciness, the Fuji apple is one of the most loved fruits in our garden. The complete opposite of Granny Smith but side by side on the same property.
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Malus domestica Granny Smith: The Green Sour Miracle of the Garden
Nothing like what you buy from the store. The garden-grown Granny Smith is sour, aromatic, browning quickly when cut. Fruits even in drought.
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Momordica charantia: Bitter Melon, Both Medicine and Mystery
Whether fruit or vegetable remains debatable but its healing power is undeniable. From stomach ulcers to blood sugar, from dental infections to immunity, Momordica charantia is a medicinal plant with thousands of years of history.
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Rubus fruticosus Black Butte: The Drought Warrior Blackberry of the Garden
Ripening in mid-August, drought-resistant, with large and delicious fruits, Black Butte blackberry is one of the most productive fruits in our garden. Grows without irrigation and yields abundantly.
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Cynara scolymus: Artichoke and the Beauty After Death
By late summer artichokes transform into dead sculptures. I don't cut them, I wait for them to scatter their seeds. In autumn new shoots emerge from below, the cycle completes.
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Bere Winter Pear: August's Most Aromatic Fruit from My Garden
With its russet skin, buttery flesh and unique aroma, the Bere winter pear is one of the oldest and most valued residents of our garden.
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Black Amber Plum: July's Black Pearl from My Garden
Golden flesh hiding beneath a black skin... Black Amber is one of the most impressive Japanese plum varieties you can grow in your garden.
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