My favorite place to visit in the world is Italy. I cannot get enough of the history, art, architecture, food, and landscape. All over Italy, fruit trees are growing. Many Italians have their own olive, lemon, and lime trees growing outside on their verandas and herbs growing on windowsills.

Many fruit trees — including semidwarf varieties — can easily grow to 15 feet and taller. Anyone who has tried to manage one of these large trees in a backyard will instantly appreciate the value of small fruit trees: They require less space, are easy to care for, and produce fruit in manageable quantities. Growing compact trees allows you to tuck more varieties of fruit into corners of your property or a small orchard, and means you can choose those varieties by flavor and climate adaptability rather than by tree size. Nearly any standard and semidwarf tree — from pears, peaches and plums to apples and apricots — can be trained to stay much more compact. Learn how to prune fruit trees to keep them small.

Apples, pears and some other tree fruits will naturally drop their fruits in early summer during the so-called ‘June drop’, but further thinning by the gardener can improve the quality of the harvest. Thinning out fruits prevents them from rubbing together, which can cause wounds that provide entry points for diseases such rot. It also avoids the phenomenon known a ‘biennial bearing’, where trees crop heavily one year, only to produce very few fruits the next. Some fruits, especially plums, can become too heavy if they aren’t thinned out, with the result that branches may not be able to take the strain and will snap.

There’s nothing quite as refreshing as the taste of lemon. Whether it’s freshly squeezed lemonade or a lemon juice squeezed on your favorite seafood dish, the taste and aromatic scent of this citrus fruit is delightful. Wouldn’t it be nice to just grab a ripe lemon from a tree in your own garden instead of having to run to the grocery store whenever you get the craving for this delicious fruit?

he lemon tree (Citrus limon) is like the sunshine incarnate in the form of a plant. It is a small to medium-sized evergreen tree or shrub with glossy green leaves and fragrant white blossoms. The tree is known for its thorny branches, which protect its precious fruit. Lemons are oval, bright yellow fruits with a thick zest and juicy, tart pulp. They’re packed with vitamin C and possess a distinct, refreshing aroma.

Lemons are ready to harvest when they turn a yellowish green or a solid yellow color, they are firm to the touch, and they are about 2 to 3 inches in size. When it comes to harvesting, the size of the fruit is more important than the color. If you pick lemons before the reach an adequate size, even if they are yellow or greenish yellow, they won’t be as juicy and they’re likely to be extremely sour.

The best time to plant lemon trees is in early spring, either in the ground or in a pot in full sun. They are not very cold tolerant and should only be planted in the ground in USDA Zones 9 and above. Water soon after planting to establish a strong root system and adopt a regular feeding routine after about a year of growth. Prune correctly for the best possible harvest each season.

Incorporate edible landscape plants for a beautiful and delicious garden. Common fruit options are backyard fruit trees, shrubs, and vines. To determine the best plants for your site, you’ll want to consider several factors, including your desired yield and ornamental qualities, along with your particular location’s hardiness zone and available pollination (some plants need other plants nearby for pollination).

Have you ever wondered why most plants have a dominant shoot that rises higher above the others? It’s all about raging hormones. You can use this to your advantage if you want to modify the shape of a plant through pruning. “Apical dominance” is the term scientists use to describe why plants reach for the sky. Apical dominance is the result of auxin (AWK-sin), a hormone that’s produced in the tips of plants’ growing shoots or at the high point of their stems. Auxin travels down each stem and sets off a chain reaction that puts the brakes, to some degree, on growth of side shoots, giving the uppermost growing point (the apical point) of the stem the upper hand in growth.

As a kid, I was never fond of lima beans, but as I came to know more about the heirloom varieties and the wide range of tastes and textures that make them so special, I learned that the mealy mush balls sold frozen in supermarkets (or worse, the ones from cans) just don’t make the grade. Of all the heirloom bush limas still available today, ‘Jackson Wonder’ is one of the hardiest and most visually attractive. Best of all, it has a meaty flavor more like a baking bean than a lima, so it has a versatility that sets it apart.