In 2011, artist Ed Ruscha left the studio in Venice, California, that he’d occupied for 26 years and moved to a 9,000sq ft former prop warehouse in Culver City. Recalls the 87-year-old artist: “When I thought about the vacant lot behind the studio it dawned on me, given I was living in the state of California, what better to plant than a citrus grove?”
That studio lot is now home to mandarin, orange, grapefruit, tangelo and kumquat trees. Plus one lemon tree. “What I thought was a mature Meyer lemon tree turned out to be a dwarf,” he says. “It’s about three and half feet tall. But I’d take that dwarf over a standard lemon tree any day because it puts out such great lemons: thin-skinned and very juicy. Sometimes it just gushes forth fruit.”
An artwork by Ed Ruscha for the book Squeeze Me: Lemon Recipes & Art © Ed Ruscha
Lemons are so crucial. At The River Cafe we use 300 a day
Ruthie Rogers
