Growing a Garden Archive: Carolyn Comber

The Italian Garden Project continues to grow into the primary archive of Italian American gardening heritage.  It is the repository of gardening wisdom, history, photos, and video that tell the story of this important part of our cultural identity. Our archives include the fond memories of Italian Americans from across the country who love to share their experiences of growing up with a garden, fig trees, and the loved ones who tended them. 

Carolyn Comber of Sag Harbor, New York sent these photos and stories that show how beloved gardening grandparents nurtured her love of her heritage and left a lasting impression.

Carolyn: My grandparents, Frances and Anthony Prizzi, were both born in New York to Italian immigrants from Castelvetrano and Camporeale, two small villages in Sicily. They had a strong passion for their heritage and shared that with me. Above is a recipe my grandmother sent to The Italian Tribune, one of her many special recipes.

The Brown Fig Tree:

This is my grandparents’ fig tree in Ozone Park, Queens. My aunt thinks that this fig tree came from a cutting from another relative’s fig tree. The cutting was likely made during the 1980s.

The White Fig Tree

My grandparents and my Aunt Roz traveled to visit our family in Sicily in 1983. While in Sicily, my grandma Frances's uncle, Diego, gave them a cutting of the white fig tree from his vineyard. My grandfather kept it in a bucket in the garage during the winter and would put it outside the garage during the summer. After he passed away, my Aunt Roz took the tree and it's now growing at her home in Levittown, NY.

To winterize his in-ground fig trees, my grandfather Anthony would cover the trees with tar paper, put a bucket on top, and tie them all up with string. He would put fish heads/bodies by the base of the trunk in the spring and cover them with bricks so they wouldn't get dug up. That was his way of providing the tree with nutrients. He made several cuttings of the tree and gave them to his family and neighbors so there are many related trees spread across Long Island.

Grazie mille, Carolyn, for sharing these beautiful memories!