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Pineapple guava is showing promise
Limerick Plantation
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LIMERICK PLANTATION HAPPENINGS
By Dot Moss
May 23, 2008

PEOPLE WANT A CHANGE:  Perhaps you’ve already read all the names of those qualifying for sheriff.  That tells me that Liberty Countians want and deserve a change.  I’m backing Richard White for sheriff and Linda Graham for commission chairman.  Linda was a good commissioner and she will be a great chairman.  And Mr. Boggs, I don’t know you, but I will support you for Commissioner in our district.  Our commissioner has let us down when it comes to cleaning up junk and hopefully you won’t allow any more pigs in our community. Those of you, who already have Pat Bowen signs on your lawn, call me and I can enlighten you as to why I no longer can support him.  I urge each and every one of you to register to vote and get out there and do it.  We need to get rid of all these “good ole boys.”

SIGN LAW IS NEEDED:  I agree with Becky Widencamp’s letter of May 11, that we need to do something about the hundreds of real estate, political and yard sale signs.  Real estate signs need to come down as soon as the property is sold and it needs to be in its proper place.  Political signs are real nuisances because they linger long after an election is over.  As far as yard sale signs (and y’all know I’m a big yard sale fan) they need to come down the same afternoon of the sale.  When I used to have them at my house, I had nine signs out and after my sale, before I even put up my remaining items, I went out and collected all nine signs.  This is what yard sale people need to do, but they don’t.  Since the address is on these signs, the code enforcement officers could go to the house and ticket them.  That would assure that the next time they had a sale that they would go that afternoon and retrieve all their signs.  

BOTTLE TREE TRADITION:  Somewhere near the Lake George area is a place called Hackett Canal.  While riding through this canal with friends in their boat, I saw my first “bottle tree.” In fact, there were two on the lawn of this house, facing the water.  What an awesome sight.  Since then, I read an article about bottle trees in Southern Living Magazine that peaked my interest even more.  If you are looking for a conversation starter with the neighbors, I promise you this will do the trick.  The bottle tree can be traced back to African slaves who brought this tradition of theirs to America.  The bottle tree is all about capturing the evil spirits that wander around the vicinity of your home into a glass bottle hung on a tree.  Tradition has it that African people believe that bottles hung on the branches of a tree, are helpful in warding off the evil eye.  Sometimes when the wind catches the neck of the bottle just right, you can hear them moan.  I can’t wait to see the one at Margie and Gene Love’s farm in Glennville.  Gary and Becky Patrick of Lake George, have colored bottles of all kinds around their river house flowerbeds.  I now have my elderberry bed surrounded with green and blue bottles.  What a neat way of recycling glass instead of it ending up in our landfills.

GARDEN REPORT:  I want to share information on some of my favorite plants in my yard, starting with pineapple guava.  I have two plants, both of which have bloomed this spring for the first time.  One plant has one single bloom, while the other has several beautiful blooms. Pineapple guava was discovered by German naturalist, traveler and plant collector, Friedrich Sellow in 1819, in Southern Brazil, Western Paraguay and Northern Argentina.  The blooms are just breathtaking.  Although the plant is hardy in zones 8-10, early fall frosts can damage fruit in zone 8, which is our area. Wider than tall, this shrub will grow to about 6 feet by 8 feet, so it makes a good hedge.  It is also drought and salt spray tolerant, so it is an excellent plant choice for the coast.  I am hoping that the blooms produce fruit.  They produce an edible, egg-shaped, aromatic fruit, maturing in autumn.  The flavor is like mixing pineapple with strawberries. I’ll let you know later if the plant produces fruit this time.  

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