ABEL'S ORCHARD

Since November is upon us, it makes me think of all the mandarin groves and orchards that are in our area. This year I had the opportunity to work for Placer County Agriculture Department where I placed Asian Citrus Psyllid traps in many of the commercial mandarin orchards. I was fortunate to get to know quite a few of the growers too. What a pleasure it was for me to talk to each of them and get to know a bit about them and their orchards.

This is Abel's Orchard on Gold Hill in Auburn. What a wonderful place Bonnie has here. She works every day gardening, planting, digging in the dirt and generally, making a welcoming place for friends and family.

Here she has put lots of French drains in and built ponds to divert all the water that comes off of the hillside. The water runs all year long. This was the most pleasant place to visit in the heat of the summer.

This garden house sits right next to the pond and was always open when I would visit her orchard. It is decorated so well it could have been in gardening magazine.

Here is a photo of the inside of the garden house. See what I mean? Gorgeous vases filled with beautiful bouquets. Everywhere you looked there were little vignettes that Bonnie had created. I am so happy to have met her and we will definitely keep in touch now. The Mountain Mandarin Growers are a tight group and starting in November you will find mandarins at all the farms, orchards, festivals, and farmer's markets. The season for mandarins has just begun. In fact, some of the growers tell me that if you buy mandarins BEFORE Thanksgiving they might not be ripe or sweet. Let the buyer beware!