FIGS INTRIGUE MANY GARDENERS. The breadth of interest struck me when I donated a spindly little dormant fig plant for a raffle and the winner told me she had received multiple offers from people wanting to buy it. For people with roots in the Middle East and the Mediterranean, figs (Ficus carica and cvs., Zones 6-10 are a link to family. There are stories of plants passed down through generations, descended from cuttings taken in the Old World. There's also a sensory aspect: My neighbor Andreas saysthat the sweet smell given off by my fig trees makes him feel as if he were back in Greece. For other people, the draw is the succulent fruit, a touch of the exotic they are surprised they can grow.My reason for growing figs is simple: The fruits are too perishable to ship when ripe, and they don't ripen after picking. So if I want to devour perfectly ripe fruit and not simply tolerate "fresh" supermarket offerings, I need to grow my own.
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