I had an older gentleman in today at the Garden Center I work in asking if we carried figs (I'm in southeastern PA, so it's sort of an exotic item around here). After telling him what I have on order, he told me a bit about why he wanted to grow figs, and I thought it was a nice little story worth sharing.
His father emigrated from Italy to the nearby city and must have brought some cuttings with him. He had that fig tree in their yard and every winter dug a big trench and to bury it. Unfortunately, when the father passed away no one cared for the tree and it died. The figs were very moist and sweet, a green color. Not like what you get in the store (his words).
Now he'd like to grow some of his own, but doesn't want to worry about digging trenches. I gave him a brief run through on winterizing and some of the hardier varieties that would be easy for him to get.
Just a nice story, thought you folks would appreciate it. I had asked if the tree was still there, but he said no. I've been hoping to find a local variety, but I suspect the neighborhoods they may be in are not ones I want to walk in.