Tony's Tips

“These are slices of available citrus from all over the world,” says Tony Russo from Russo’s in Watertown, Massachusetts. It's the beginning of March and still citrus season. We have blood oranges, Cara Caras, lemons, California navel oranges, Florida grapefruit, pomelos, limes from Mexico, Moroccan oranges, and Orri oranges from Israel!

There is a great variety in the fruit tree section, and the Shiro plum tree from Japan does not disappoint! “This is an extremely sweet, delicious delicate plum,” says Tony Russo from Russo’s in Watertown, Massachusetts. Give it a little fertilizer each year, plenty of water, full sun, and this plant will take care of itself. 

 

“This fragrant, fresh lavender is from Queens Greens in Hadley, Massachusetts, and freshly harvested two or three times a week,” says Tony Russo from Russo’s in Watertown, Massachusetts. We have a great selection of fine culinary herbs at Russo’s: sushi leaf, lemon balm, fresh basil, and many more. Everything is local and fragrant!

 

Today, Tony Russo from Russo’s in Watertown, Massachusetts is accompanied by Jason Wang, US MasterChef finalist and TV food personality. "Everyone is familiar with the blanched endive," says Jason, "but what is this one?" Sourced from Belgium, the flavor is about the same and the color is beautiful. Our Trevisano is from Treviso, Italy. These vegetables can be enjoyed in a salad, sliced with gruyere and ham, or pan-seared with powdered sugar, as chef Jason Wang tells us. We prefer the California radicchio because it’s a little less bitter or intense.

As Tony Russo from Russo’s in Watertown, Massachusetts, puts it, “I love flowers with a fragrance!” Snapdragons are a healthy flower that comes early in the season and can endure the cold weather. They come in many colors in the same pot, known as mixers. Petunias are another annual flower with a nice fragrance and one that you can plant now! 

 

Outdoors we have a great selection of rose plants, primarily floribundas. “They bloom and continue to bloom for the whole course of the summer,” says Tony Russo from Russo’s in Watertown, Massachusetts. There are some old fashioned ones and some newer ones, but for all floribundas, the fragrance is great.