Our visit to the Bellocci's was perfect! After an indescribably delicious afternoon meal, (see blog post, An Afternoon in Italy in California) Rosa and her son Francesco gave us a guided tour of their beautiful, extensive property, starting in the citrus grove.

Rosa shows some ready to be picked tangerines on the tree in the front garden.

A beautiful, ripe tangerine.

An unusual variety of striped lemon ripens on the tree in the front garden.

These grapefruit were incredibly large!

Saint Francis watches over the citrus grove.

The Bellocci’s own and operate a small private school on the property across the street from their house. On the school grounds they keep chickens, ducks, geese, and peacocks who dine on grain and scraps from the garden.

One of the beautiful peacocks the children at the school are lucky enough to see everyday.

Domenico walks up the path that separates the large garden plot (on the left) from the section planted with fruit and nut trees (on the right).

Francesco harvests some of the last few leaves of basil in the large garden plot. From right to left you can see grapes, eggplant, two varieties of chicory, broccoletti, basil, broccoli and fava beans. Although it feels as though you're in the country when in the garden, the property actually sits in the middle of a densely populated suburban neighborhood.

Rosa points to a row of broccoli. Notice the line of fig trees at the back edge of the garden. The family grows ten fig trees of four varieties.

Rosa and Francesco harvest eggplant in the large garden.

Much to our surprise and delight, this basket was being filled for us to take home.

The soil in the Bellocci garden is very sandy and tends to be very cold at his time of year (November). Rosa scrapes the surface around the chicory plants to allow warm air to penetrate the soil.

Broccoletti, also known as rapa or rapini

Rosa harvests cime di rapa, also known as broccoletti, from one of the smaller garden plots. In the foreground you can see that zucchini was still growing even at our mid-November visit.

Purple bell peppers, just picked from the small garden plot.

The fava were blooming and smelled wonderful!

There are lots of grapevines planted on the Bellocci property. Most are wine grapes which had already been harvested and pressed, but these table grapes were perfectly ripe when we came to visit.

Known in Italian as “uva fragolina”, or strawberry grapes, these sweet, slip skin table grapes have a distinct berry flavor.

A large section of the Bellocci's property is planted with fruit and nut trees including peaches, pomegranates, pecans, olives, figs, and this chestnut tree.

Francesco carefully holds up one of the Italian maroni chestnut burrs that has fallen from the tree.

Quince, known in italian as mela cotogna, grow abundantly.

Rosa holds up a ripe quince. She'll add it to the large boxful she has already picked which she plans to turn into jams and candies.

The Bellocci's also have several loquat trees, known in Italian as “nespole”.

A large prickly pear cactus, also called Fig of India, grows at the back of the property. Rosa makes a sweet liqueur from the ripe fruit.

We were lucky enough to catch the sun setting over this beautiful garden. Only the dark of the evening convinced us to leave such a wonderful place.

Francesco points out the tiny black basil seeds that have been saved for planting next year. The Bellocci's save many kinds of seeds in jars on their covered back porch.

Rosa shows us the long bean seeds she has saved for next year's planting. The seeds were brought over from the Bellocci's hometown of Mola di Bari.

In addition to canning, Rosa hangs fresh tomatoes from the rafters of the covered back porch. She will use them in their partially dry form throughout the winter.

These small tomatoes are cut in clusters and strung up by their stems. Rosa adds them to lots of dishes including the delicious focaccia she served us at lunch.

The Bellocci’s not only shared a delightful Sunday afternoon dinner with us, they send us home with armloads of gifts from the garden including fresh eggs, homemade wine, prickly pear liqueur, house-cured olives, chestnuts, cookies, herbs, fruits, and many vegetables. Grazie mille!