# Pomegranate blossoms



## Grampa Don (May 1, 2019)

Our pomegranate tree is blossoming.







It's a pretty tree, but nasty thorns.  Our younger son planted it on his 18th birthday.  He's 50 now.

Don


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## RadishRose (May 1, 2019)

How beautiful Don. I don't remember having seen one before! Are those a tiny pomegranets forming, or more flower bud? Do you eat them?

Seems like your place would be a lot of fun to visit!


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## Grampa Don (May 1, 2019)

Thanks, RadishRose.  Those are buds.  We won't have pomegranates until the fall.  Yes, we eat them and give them away.

Our yard is nothing special, but there are some pretty things if you look close, especially this time of year.

Don


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## Ruth n Jersey (May 1, 2019)

That is so beautiful. I buy a couple during the holiday season. I never thought about how they grow.  They are nice enough to have just for ornamental purposes in the yard. The fruit is a bonus. How tall do they grow and are they bothered by pests of any kind? I guess the thorns would keep birds or squirrels away from pecking or stealing the fruit.


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## Keesha (May 1, 2019)

That’s amazing. A pomegranate tree. I’ve never known anyone to have one. 
What growing zone are in ?
How much fruit do you get per season?
Do you make jam or can the seeds?


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## Grampa Don (May 1, 2019)

Thanks for the comments.

Ruth --  It's not a large tree.  It's under the phone lines so we keep it clipped.  Here is a photo of the whole tree.  You can tell it's a hazy Spring day here.






We haven't had any problem with pests except that the squirrels eat some of the fruit and buds.  It's amazing that the thorns don't seem to bother them or the birds at all.

Keesha -- We're in southern California, about 5 miles from Disneyland.  The amount of fruit varies from year to year.  Some years it's loaded.  We don't try to preserve any.

Don


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## Grampa Don (May 1, 2019)

Here's a squirrel I caught eating a bud today.  We don't lose too much to them.






Don


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## Keesha (May 1, 2019)

What a great shot that is. It’s such a pretty looking tree. California is really warm. It’s no wonder they thrive.


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## Falcon (May 1, 2019)

A     Very  pretty  tree  Grampa  Don.   MY  squirrels  are a pain in the rear!  They're  always after  my  bird  feeder.


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## SeaBreeze (May 1, 2019)

Beautiful Don!


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## Grampa Don (May 1, 2019)

John --  The squirrels raid our bird feeder too.  They can be a pest.  But, we enjoy watching them.  Today, two of them were making whoopee under the Mulberry tree.  That was funny.

Don


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## Ruth n Jersey (May 5, 2019)

Love the photos. Those squirrels seem to be all over. I once read that scorpions will be the only thing to survive if something should happen to the earth. I don't know if there is any truth in that but I think they are wrong. It will be the squirrels.  Your yard is beautiful and neatly kept.


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## Grampa Don (May 5, 2019)

Thanks, Ruth.  My older son does all the yard work.  Any credit for it belongs to him.  I'm in charge of turning on the sprinklers.  I think you are right about the squirrels.

Don


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## Capt Lightning (May 6, 2019)

Lovely photo.  It's interesting that what  you call a yard,  we call a garden.  In the UK, a yard is usually a paved / hard area.  Last week we were visiting a castle and the garden area was originally referred to as a yard - from the Anglo-Saxon 'geard'  meaning an enclosed area adjacent to a building.


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## Grampa Don (May 6, 2019)

Capt Lightning --  That's interesting.  Here, a garden is an area for vegetables or flowers, whereas a yard usually means grass.  A paved area might be called a patio.  Yard can also mean any area not covered by buildings or driveway.  My neighbor's back yard is all swimming pool and concrete.

Don


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## RadishRose (May 6, 2019)

We also call the grassy part of our yards, lawns.


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## Capt Lightning (May 7, 2019)

Well, it seems that in the US, 'yard' is used in it's original historical sense - an enclosed area adjacent to a dwelling, while in the UK, it more specifically refers to an enclosed area with a paved or hard surface.   

Basically, houses have gardens.  The bit in front is the "front garden", and the bit behind is the "back garden" .  'Lawn'  refers to a well cut and maintained area of grass kept for aesthetic or sporting purposes  eg a Tennis or Croquet lawn.  Curiously, Bowls is not played on a Lawn, but on a Green. 

My back garden has a grassy area - but no way could it be called a 'Lawn' .


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## Grampa Don (May 7, 2019)

That kind of explains Scotland Yard.  Yard is an interesting word.  A graveyard is usually grass, but a shipyard isn't.  A junkyard is probably dirt.  A school yard might be grass, but if it is big enough it's a field.  A place where old aircraft are dismantled is a bone yard.  And then there is the yardarm to hang bad guys from.

Give him an inch and he'll take a yard.  I wonder which one, front or back?

Don


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## Grampa Don (Jun 3, 2019)

Starting to set some fruit.  Looks like a good year.






Don


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## Ruth n Jersey (Jun 3, 2019)

Grandpa Don, I'd love to see photos of the fruit on the tree. It must be so pretty. How do you know when to pick them? Trial and error?


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## Grampa Don (Jun 3, 2019)

Hi Ruth,

I'll post a photo in the fall when they're ripe.  You can tell when they're ripe by the deep red color.  When they're really ripe they crack, but they're still good.  My boys used to smack them against the ground to crack them open and then break them apart with their hands to get at the berries.  The juice really stains.

Don


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## Grampa Don (Sep 11, 2019)

Almost ripe.  A nice crop this year.






Don


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## RadishRose (Sep 11, 2019)

Grampa Don said:


> Almost ripe.  A nice crop this year.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


What beauties!!


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## Ruth n Jersey (Sep 11, 2019)

Grandpa Don they look delicious thanks for sharing the photo. Can you make jelly out of them? Another month or two and they will be showing up in our supermarket. I bet right off the tree they are a bit sweeter. The juice is suppose to be very good for people. Very pricey in the health food stores.


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## Grampa Don (Dec 28, 2019)

Just to finish the cycle, today we pruned it.  Well, my son pruned it and I helped pick up stuff.  The one bad thing about this tree is that the limbs are covered with needle like spines.  Now we're ready for those blossoms again in a few months.






Don


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## Ruth n Jersey (Dec 28, 2019)

Grandpa Don,thanks for the photo. Your son did a beautiful job of pruning. We had apple trees that my dad took care of since he was a nurseryman his whole life. It's a lot of work keeping trees in shape but well worth the effort. Picking up the branches was always my job but at least apples don't have spines.


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