My wife has had a veggie garden for the past ten years in two houses. It always struck me as too much work for too little harvest. Add in the fact that the garden plants are annuals and I think our garden costs more per pound than a trip to Whole Foods.
I want perennial plants to feed me so I only have to buy them once. And I would like them to be native, or at least well-enough acclimated to the mid-Atlantic region where I live so the plants can tend to themselves.
Reaching back to my childhood, my immigrant grandfather had a fig tree in his yard. I always thought it was purely decorative as I never saw any fruit on it. I found out long after the death of both my mom’s parents that my grandfather was eating the figs as soon as they became ripe. His tree was barely cold tolerant enough for where he lived. I know that figs have been bred to be cold tolerant enough to survive winters in Chicago.
For Father’s Day in 2020, my family gave me a baby fig tree. It yielded its first fruits in 2021. In late summer 2022, I noticed a plant sprouting at the edge of our yard with distinct human hand shaped leaves. Some bird or squirrel planted a second fig tree for me. In spring 2024, there is a fruit growing on it. Hopefully the fruit is good.
Modern Anachronist 