apricot

Also known as apricot mallow, this showy shrub has bowl-shaped flowers popular with pollinators and it’s available with white, lavender and deep reddish-orange blooms.

She added: "We're even growing peaches, apricots, and nectarines outside currently, something that would have been unthinkable in previous years due to the risk of late frosts and lack of early pollinators."

You can thin out jams or preserves—apricot, cherry, fig, even marmalade—or simmer down fresh or frozen fruit into a sticky glaze.

A chewy, dried apricot in a salad offers a unique texture, while a pan-roasted apricot in a savory chicken dish with a rich pan sauce lends complexity and depth.

He went from standard citrus, apricot and avocado to a more exotic collection, adding finger limes, valentine pummelos, jaboticaba, cherimoya and pawpaw.