Free Food/Gardening/
The Fig Tree — Fascinating and Adored for Its Fleshy Fruit
Unlike my showy cactus, the fig is highly modest and shows great decorum
The fig tree fascinates me. One morning, I found a new one — it had decided to grow between the spiny thorns of a cactus that had occupied its pot for more than twenty years.
The cactus had just recently flowered — being one of those seductive creatures that thrust forward its large, swollen flower cases to burst open in the dark of night, for only a few rapturous minutes. Great creamy, lustrous white petals surround the heart of its voluptuous centre, where a succulent yellow stamen rests against yellow-tinged petals.
An exotic fragrance draws all manner of night beetles and moths into its luscious depths. By morning, the pink flower cases have closed and drooped toward the ground, limp and undeniably spent.
Unlike my showy cactus, the fig is highly modest and shows great decorum and restraint when it comes to reproduction.
