Frozen Lemonade

Last year I had a bumper crop of Meyer Lemons and naturally I had great plans for them this year. Alas, it is not to be. Mother nature decided to show me who was the boss.....Cooler temperature prevailed during flower and fruit setting season. Less fruits set on the tree.....Then in late January, a number of severe frost days made me very sympathetic to the orange farmers. It is diffucult to relate how much a hot place like Temecula could also be so cold. High 90s to 110 F degree in the summer!! Right now it is the 80s in the daytime and 40s at night.

A difference a night makes....

I remember gardening in Malaysia and worrying about too much rain or dry spells affecting my plants. Then I moved to New York and was excited to experience gardening in four distinct season. I paid heed to changing weather and excited planted season appropriate vegetables and flowers. San Diego.....now this is a Gardeners Paradise. I am spoilt - I get to grow temperate and many of the tropical fruits, vegetable and flowers I grew up with. I seem to be able to 'stretch' the growing zones of plants, finding micro-climate within my garden to make it work. Sometimes, the tropical plants I grew did not take but I would try again and again. The strange thing that I notice is, while it is often difficult to establish a tropical plant in my San Diego Zone 8 climate, once it gets establish, it generally flourishes beautifully and often multiple either by being self sowing or sprouting baby plants. Cuttings also root easily.

Jack Frost nipping at my....Pandan

My hopes of growing my Pandan outside in my Temecula courtyard garden was dashed on Friday. The lower leaves of the pandan were limp showing signs of frost damaged. Thankfully the larger upper leaves were relatively unaffected. I peeled off the damaged leaves but ultimately decided to dig up the plant and pot it up and move it inside the house. Hopefully, it will recover.


It is a bit disappointing although not totally unexpected. An experiment that ended in an unwanted possible outcome. I am chalking it up as experiment#1. Earlier in the summer, I had separated an "anak" - a plantlet from the mother plant for this experiment. It settled in very well in the Temecula courtyard garden.

Pandan "anak" separate from mother plant ready for transplant to Temecula garden.