Persimmons

Persimmon tree, laden with fruit, Rovinj, Croatia, 2011

Croatia may not be wealthy in conventional terms, but it is rich in culture and its soil seems to effortlessly supply a bounty for its people.  Countless olive trees give way to rolling hills of cultivated grapes. Patches of land sprout produce for the local farmers market, while neatly tilled plots near the house supply the family with fresh veggies and herbs all year long.

Walk along the street of any village and you're likely to see fig trees and, maybe, some citrus, too.  In the fall persimmon trees are flush with fruit.  Croatians, waiting for them to ripen, often have the sweet fruit drop to the ground, too plentiful to pick them all.  Any maybe, next to a warm, south-facing wall, some ingenious person might build trellis and plant some kiwi.