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To the best of my knowledge, there’s no rule against coveting thy neighbor’s plants. So I’ve been cruising this garden regularly ever since I spied pomegranates along the path last winter. I was kind of dying to know what was inside. The fruits are smaller than the ones you see at the grocery store. Are they ripe? Are they edible? I was soooo close to knowing the answer.

I’m apparently fine with stalking someone else’s plants, but I drew the line at sampling the fruit uninvited…this time anyway. Can you see why this took some restraint? They certainly look delicious. Pomegranates are one of the reasons I look forward to winter. Call me crazy, but there’s something magical about sprinkling them on squash. Really. Try it.

Pomegranate fruit opened

Not all the fruits were making an escape. Most of the fruits were intact and in it for the long haul, if the owners decide not to harvest, and let the orbs decorate the bare stems throughout the winter, like last year. If this were my plant, I’d be torn. So delicious. So pretty. What to do?

Pomegranate fruit

I don’t know why I have always imagined Pomegranates as a Californian plant. They’re all allegedly hardy to zone 7 or 8. We can totally grow them in Portland. Why we don’t grow more, I can’t tell you. We should.

While plant-stalking the pomegranate, guess what I saw lurking right behind?

persimmon tree

A heavily decorated persimmon! How great does it look with the pumpkin color echo in the background? How festive.

persimmon with pumpkin color echo

Those fruits! I can’t get over the skin. Matte finish like a peach, but smooth, not fuzzy. Tactile-obsessed gardeners, you guys get it. If I had to guess, I’d say this might be Fuyu, which can be eaten while still firm. Can you even imagine what a beautiful salad these persimmons and pomegranates would make together? But again, leave them for decoration, or eat them? I’m already agonizing over the dilemma and I haven’t planted either. Yet.

persimmon fruit

Rumor has it, the fruits will stay vibrant and hang on after the leaves have gone. I can’t wait to see it then.

persimmon fruit

Not that the leaves aren’t gorgeous, too.

persimmon foliage

So high on my wish list. Oh my gawd.