If you've ever visited a region that isn't especially lush with bougainvillea and birds of paradise and orange trees and lemon trees, it can make you pine for the lovely 'n lush land o' plenty that is Southern California.
Actually, "pine" reminds us that pines grow well here, too, as do most leafy, juicy, petal-laden things.
Fallen Fruit, a collective dedicated to mapping fruit growing on or over public property, appreciates our unique bounty. Appreciates it, and enhances it, through numerous annual events, from jam-making sessions -- that's jam made with fruit collected from public or public overhang trees -- to the tending of the Urban Fruit Trails.
Next up? Fallen Fruit will host a Public Fruit Tree Adoption on Thursday, Dec. 18 at One Colorado in Pasadena. If you've been wanting your own citrus tree to fuss over and care for, the group will give away over 50 trees "carefully selected for the event."
There are important asterisks to the adoption, but they are community-enhancing and easy to follow. The biggie? This fruit tree, should you choose to take one, is not for the little plot of dirt next to your swimming pool. You'll need to plant it "in a public space or alongside private property to create new kinds of community based on generosity and sharing."
Fallen Fruit suggests that such a kind-hearted act "saves Santa a trip."
You'll also be "initiating a relationship with the tree" once it is yours, so it isn't a plant-and-forget kind of thing. There's a vow to take, and a solemn one, as your tree could give fruit to many people for years to come. Nice? Yes. Important? Yes. Other good-feeling words that get a lot of play during the holidays but maybe don't carry water in most situations, but absolutely do here? Yes.
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You'll need to RSVP, to let Fallen Fruit know you want a tree, and there's a first-come, first-served vibe going down.
Now, where will you put that beauty, here in the land o' pretty plants, so it may give fruit to all who want it for years, or even decades, to come?
