This month we explore a small sliver of the beauty and bounty of nature that can be found in the water. We have recently been revitalizing our water garden habitats and we have some amazing results. The aquatic plants commonly known as Water...
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The typical modern perspective seems to be that everything takes too long. Waiting at the red light to change, for your order to arrive, or the dreaded download! It is easy to get caught up in the rat race and forget that nature moves at her own...
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The White Sapote, Casimiroa edulus, is one of those wondrous fruits that has its share of ups and downs! It is a rare and unusual fruit, and is a member of the Rutaceae family, which also includes the familiar citrus. White Sapote trees are...
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Do pickles grow on trees? You might think so if you were to see the Bilimbi in full fruit. A close relative of the Carambola, or Star Fruit, Bilimbi resembles small bright green pickles growing right out of the trunk of the tree. Depending on...
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Many of the plants you will find at the Fruit & Spice Park have been used throughout time in a variety of different ways. In the modern world, we tend to focus on just the fruit or edible part of the plant, but during the time when there were...
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February is not only the month for love, but at the Fruit & Spice Park, it’s also the time for Jujubes. And we mean the jujube fruit and not the little gummy candies that come in a colorful box! Jujubes, Ziziphus mauritiana, are produced on...
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Almost all plants have a season during the year in which they produce flowers and fruit. In South Florida mangos bloom in early winter, and then in the summer we harvest the fruit. In December and January, lychees typically bloom, and then around...
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This month our featured fruit is Miracle Fruit, Synsepalum dulcificum. Regular readers may recall my prediction that the stress caused by Hurricane Irma would result in a profusion of flowers and fruit in some species, and can see the result on...
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It’s time to go bananas! This is a great time to enjoy one of the most popular fruits in the world. Bananas (Musa spp.) are an herbaceous perennial, not a tree, with a pseudostem emerging from an underground root structure called a corm. Each...
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INGREDIENTS 1 20 oz can young green jackfruit 2 tsp oil, divided 1.5 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp onion powder 1 tsp thyme 1 tsp parsley ½ tsp salt 1 tsp paprika ½ to ¾ tsp cayenne ¼ to ½ tsp black pepper a good dash of cinnamon, nutmeg and all spice...
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Jackfruit, Artocarpus heterophylla is identified as the most versatile fruit known to man. Aside from being the largest tree borne fruit (commonly found up to 100 pounds) it is useful and valuable at every stage, from flower to mature fruit. In...
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We have been waiting a whole year for mango season to return and it’s finally here. Glenn… Carrie… Florigon… Kent… Keitt. They are all back. We sure did miss you. You might have noticed that the mangos are ripening either later or earlier...
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