Red Aztec maize

Red Aztec maize is worth growing just for the wow factor. The deep red cobs look great, and I couldn’t resist them from the seed catalogue. I had everything to learn about growing maize, and it’s been an interesting crop, but the first lot of cobs are mature now. From the main picture you can see that they’re not the big, full cobs one might hope for, but with this lot I would at least recover my seed.

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Cleomes

Well these have been worth waiting for! Cleomes were on my wish list of plants to grow, but they have taken a bit of trying. This morning they were catching the early sun so brightly I had to stop and take a photo. I first noticed cleomes in Basel, when I was living there, and was enchanted from first sight. They are not a standard flower in Perth, perhaps they don’t cope with hot dry summers, but in Basel they were in bloom on the path in to the swimming pool in…

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Acerola

This sweet little tree has just started to rain ripe fruit on our driveway. The acerola is one of those fruits like loquats and cape gooseberries that is suited to eating as you walk past the tree, rather than picking for later. The acerola, Malphigia emarginata, is also called various types of cherry, and I think around here is often called a brazilian cherry. The fruit is juicy and the skin is so thin you don’t need to peel them, making a quick bite a treat The flavour is sweet, aromatic, sharp, and…

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