Positive Focus Sunday - Going 'Exotic'

Yes, it's that time of the year when I plant seeds for my veggie and flower garden. I have planted fruiting trees in the yard (double duty - bit of shade and fruit). My plan is to have more of a flower cutting garden area. I am also cutting back on the number of tomato plants this year and going for quality over quantity! (Gasp - I know!)

However, that doesn't mean I haven't stepped off the path of planting 'not your normal' things. I mean, there is a cardoon in the greenhouse which is about 6 inches tall right now. I don't have any plans to eat it, but rather want it for the unusual look of it in the garden. 

And I have a Ylang-Ylang tree in the greenhouse too. It will be container grown so I can move it into the greenhouse in the winter. (Hmmmm....I think my need for a larger space to overwinter large plants is going to be on the planning books.)

But...

It's a bit hard to see right now, but in the middle of those leaves is a little 'bud'. That little bud is hopefully the start of a 'inflorescence' or cluster of flowers which will turn into olives! This is my little rescue tree which has been happily living on the backside of the house where it gets plenty of sun and warmth. 

Of course, I am a bit concerned when I do get olives, there will be several steps I need to go through to turn them into something edible. Unlike my fruit trees, I can't eat an olive right off the tree. But still, the prospect of getting a real olive off a tree in North Carolina has me excited. 

And then there is this...

Yep, I did a thing. 

Like grab the dragonfruit out of the compost/trashcan at work and bring it home. 

And do you know how many hundreds of seeds are in a dragonfruit?

I scooped out the flesh and put it in a strainer and washed as much of the pulp away. I then dumped it into two trays I filled with potting soil and covered lightly with more soil. A week later I have about 60 seedlings in 2 trays with probably more to come!

Will I actually ever achieve a real fruit off one of these? 

Don't know. I would like to think so. Especially since I found out a dragonfruit grown yourself actually has some flavor, unlike the ones you buy at the grocery store. Those are picked under-ripe and don't have a chance to develop any flavor. 

Plus I think it would be fun to grow a dragonfruit here in North Carolina. I know it will have to be container grown and moved into the greenhouse (damn, I need a bigger greenhouse!) for the winter. But still, why not?

Hopefully, I can find homes for the seedlings I don't need!

So while there will be my staple crops of tomatoes and green beans, supplemented by basil and other herbs, the idea of having some 'exotic' crops growing is fun. And isn't gardening supposed to be fun?