Mangoes!

Eat your hearts out, northerners! It's mango season!

I skipped Fairchild Tropical Garden's mango festival last weekend because I knew I'd spend money I don't have. If you're planning on coming to South Florida sometime, think about timing it with the annual festival.

It's also proving to be another abundant year, and, as you see from the first pic, there are enough around so that  damaged or too small ones are simply discarded. Since my own mango tree is still too small to be allowed to develop fruit, I rootle around in these piles for ones that are still fine to eat. (Can you say mango smoothie?) I also go out on the bike and collect them from the public-rights-of-way where the trees overhang. (This whole neighborhood was once mango groves and many homes still have trees from the original groves.)

I took the other photos in the garden of fellow blogger TOG. He says his trees produce masses every year and the trick is to cut the trees back hard after the fruiting season. It also keeps the trees a very manageable size and enables several varieties in a small space. Trees that are allowed to get big eventually stop producing fruit and concentrate of getting even bigger.