Tag Archives: Earth Day

Earth Day 2011 – Let the Fig Tree Reign Supreme

22 Apr

Earth Day 2011 – New Life is Hidden Within – Time to Let it Out

From humble beginnings to utter lusciousness - Homegrown Figs are fabulous. Look at the tiny little fig that emerged during the cold winter months!

Ahh, Earth Day, when we humble creatures do something beneficial for Mother Earth. Now, no sermons, but we should all be doing things that benefit Mother Earth on a regular basis. Yeah, you in the back, playing with your phone under the table thinking no one sees it, that means you – and we see it!

Earth Day falls on Good Friday this year. So for those who celebrate the Easter Holiday this is a wonderful opportunity to do something extra special.

The pictures will speak volumes, but a little background first… and no, that is not a funky art installation, those are the fig trees all cozy during their long winter’s nap.

Many people who have gardens and fruit trees have tended them for years, decades, and even for generations. This means that a tree that bears fruit for you and your family today may have made the journey here with your great-great-great-grandmother or grandfather. And it means that each generation has learned from the one before on how to care for these beloved trees. Traditions such as these are passed on orally and physically. There is love and hard work involved, two things that go hand in hand when you want to create beautiful, lasting things. In honor of Earth Day and Good Friday, let’s take a look at three generations participating in a very old world tradition – the uncovering of the Fig Trees…

Home improvement specialist, Mike Giordano of Sev-Roc Building Corp is an expert on homes and gardens. With skills that have been perfected over decades, craftsmanship that comes from the inside out, and an experienced hand that works wonders in a modern world, his greatest skill is in creating sustainable things of true value – not just for his customers, but for himself as well – a family, a home, and a garden.

For decades his father tended to the fig trees he had planted in his own garden. When he passed on Mike took over the tasks of unearthing them, protecting and nurturing them during the spring and summer months, the oh-so anticipated harvesting, and “burying” them for their winter hibernation – and so, the fig trees in his father’s garden still thrive and give fruit that the whole family enjoys. Now, there was a time when he actually did bury them the same way as his father always had. If you didn’t know any better you might think the family pets had been buried in the back yard when you saw the graves in the garden. But no, those were buried fig trees. These days an above ground “burial” works just as well for him – termed tree-wrapping. The trees are bound, insulated and wrapped in weather-proof plastic. The pictures show the 2011 “unwrapping” of the fig trees. Here’s to a bountiful harvest! Enjoy…