Homegrown Pomegranates

With the garden settling in for winter rest, it’s time for the harvest of one of the desert’s sweetest fruits. A few years ago, two trees came up voluntarily in the flower bed by our front door. They were planted by the birds no doubt, so I had my son help me transplant them to the garden. I wasn’t sure if they would bear fruit but, they do, and it’s delicious. This is one of the most hardy desert trees there is, and certainly a productive one.

My neighbor has two very large pomegranate trees in her yard, and offers the pickings to me each year. They bear huge red fruits, while mine are the smaller pink ones; both have deep crimson red seeds inside and the juice is delightful.

This tree has wonderful coral colored tubular blossoms in the summer that the hummingbirds are really drawn to, and so am I. It needs very little water, and with a careful eye, the fruit can be picked before the birds get the harvest, but I’m always inclined to let them have a few; after all, they planted mine.