“It’s not supposed to work like that!” I said, more loudly than I probably should have, to daughter Catherine in Mt. Pleasant.

She was telling me that one of her co-workers had told Catherine that she, Catherine, had been an inspiration to her when she, Catherine, said to her, the friend, that one should make decisions that are best for oneself without worrying what other people think.

I assumed that meant the co-worker would ignore public opinion and would, without concern for personal safety, rush into a burning building to bring an invalid to safety, or go to a developing country and start a foundation, or donate a kidney.

The co-worker had her nose pierced.

I think Catherine should get out of the inspiration business. Today I am going into the fig preserves business.

I really like figs. They are almost like eating potato chips. Peel and eat a fig, peel and eat a fig, peel and eat, etc. That is the best thing to do with fresh figs. I saw a recipe recently for fig bars using fresh figs. I also saw a recipe for making an appetizer with fresh figs and sour cream. There is the fig cake made with fig preserves. Best of all is the hot, buttered toast with fig preserves.

Figs are so easy to grow that I am surprised everyone doesn’t have a bush. If your lot has any sunny space at all, you should consider planting a fig bush, a pear tree and a few blueberry bushes. None of these fruits needs other varieties for pollination, and each will produce as many fruits as a family needs.

Figs are best planted when they are dormant — in fall and winter. I’m telling you this now while you are enjoying fresh figs, so you will make a note to plant a bush this fall.

Their requirements are few. They need sun and will grow well in average garden soil. They will do all right if they have a bit of afternoon shade, but don’t plant them under trees.

Give them plenty of space. Our fig tree (it has grown beyond a bush) is about 20 to 30 feet wide and has bumped up against the pear tree. I didn’t know it would get so large. At some old homesteads, you’ll see a fig tree planted near the chimney. My Ed thinks that was for temperature help. When the weather got really cold, the nearby chimney would provide the fig tree with protection from prevailing winds and some heat to fight the freezing temperatures.

The two fig varieties most commonly grown here are the ‘Brown Turkey’ and ‘Celeste.’ ‘Brown Turkey’ grows in warm climates to Zone 7 (that’s us). There also is a dwarf fig, ‘Negronne,’ which grows to only six feet high. Two other varieties growing in Zone 8 and warmer are ‘Desert King’ and ‘Oregon Honey.’

I’m off now to make fig preserves, but despite Catherine’s admonition for independent thinking, I won’t have my nose pierced.

Juanita Garrison, of Denver Downs Farm, writes regularly about gardening for the Independent-Mail.