Living in the Redland ….perks!

By Maggie Dokic on August 26th, 2008
Categories: About, The Redland

One of the first things I did when I moved to Miami was plant a mango tree. I loved the idea of having something growing in the yard, taking care of it, and later enjoying fruit from it. But when I moved to the Redland to an acre-plus of land I found myself planning for other fruit trees. The property in the Redland already had mangoes, avocadoes, lychees, longan, starfruit, bananas, loquat and various citrus, but I wanted to try some others.

We ended up planting mamey, caimito, guava, pomegranate and a few varieties of avocadoes. I had heard from several different sources that the best place to buy fruit trees in Miami, not just the Redland, was Pine Island Nursery on Eureka and 163 Ave. That’s where we ended up buying our new fruit trees. The pomegranate was for my youngest daughter. She loves them, and at 5 bucks for the fruit at the store, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to have our own tree instead. Of course, having to wait a couple of years for the first fruiting is just part of the delight. =) We have our first fruits on the tree as I write this. I hope they make it to maturity without getting blown off.

When I moved to the place in the Redland I transplanted some of my fruit trees from the previous home. My beloved Glenn Mango did not make it. I saw it wither up and die despite my best efforts. But the sugarapple did just fine moving homes. I was so happy! I remember the history of my trees. They’re like family, after all. The sugarapple (anon in Spanish) was a gift from Miami-Dade County a few years back. I got it as part of their Adopt-a-Tree program. To date, the county has given away over 125,000 trees to eligible homeowners since they started the program back in 2001. Two of the trees were to me! I may go back this year and pick up two more. Here is a link to the event dates. There is only 1 more scheduled for this year, so get a move on.

That odd-looking fruit that looks something like a hand grenade is my sugarapple. Yes, notice that I said “my.” I’m like a proud mama. Yes, that’s my baby. It’s hard to describe the flavor, but I’ll try. It’s mild and sweet. Each one of those little bumps you see contains a black seed about the size of a sunflower seed surrounded by a pudding-like pulp. When the anon is ripe you gently open it with your hands and eat each little section one at a time. So you have to work at eating the fruit but it’s lots of fun and pretty addicting.

The second picture is the first avocado we got from our new tree. It’s some sort of long-neck avocado. You won’t find these at your local grocer. Look at the size of that thing! That is a regular roll of paper towels next to it so you can see how huge it is. And the taste is super smooth and buttery. Mmmmm….. mmmmmm!

If you want your own place in the Redland where you can grow fruit to your heart’s delight, give me a call. I’m sure I can find a place for you here. =)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 26th, 2008 at 8:01 am and is filed under About, The Redland. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

1. Sarah Cooper said at September 1st, 2008 at 7:12 am

   You make me want to plant a tree — and try new fruits!

   Nice to see you again, Maggie! 🙂

2. Maggie Dokic said at September 12th, 2008 at 8:24 am

   Sarah, I finally fixed the category so that the post shows up on the home page as it should have. I was bothered by the fact that it didn’t and didn’t want to reply until I fixed it. Weird, I know =) Thanks for stopping by!

3. Thesa Chambers, Broker Licensed in Oregon said at September 17th, 2008 at 10:17 pm

   Maggie – I can picture you telling me about your trees – that is one thing I miss living here in Oregon on the edge of the Cascades – we do not have a growing season – too cold for these great fruits – thanks for sharing – I miss you

4. Maggie Dokic said at September 17th, 2008 at 10:36 pm

   Thesa, you’re so sweet. Thanks for not giving up on me. I need to come for an e-visit. I’ve missed you too. Hope you got my reply voicemail?