Remembering Bob Duncan—and Growing the Impossible

A Tribute to a Pioneering Canadian Fruit Grower

Bob Duncan showed Canadian gardeners that the line between possible and impossible isn’t always where we think it is.

At Fruit Trees and More, the nursery and demonstration orchard he ran with his wife, Verna, on Vancouver Island, Bob grew figs, lemons, olives, yuzu, loquats, feijoas and many other fruits that gardeners might not expect to see growing in Canada.

Bob was also extraordinarily generous with his knowledge. I wrote about his work in my books about growing figs, lemons and olives—and turned to him many times with questions.

In this special tribute episode, I’ve gone back through recordings from my visits and conversations with Bob. Some were made while we walked through his garden; others come from longer interviews about citrus and unusual fruit.

You’ll hear Bob talk about:

• His enormous Meyer lemon tree, which produced more than 400 lemons annually

• Why keeping a citrus tree alive is different from bringing its fruit to harvest

• His focus on breba figs

• Growing olives on Vancouver Island

• Why yuzu is especially well suited to coastal British Columbia

• The danger of keeping container-grown citrus too wet

• The thinking that led him to try growing these unlikely fruits in the first place

Near the end of one of our conversations, Bob summed up his approach in five words:

“So I thought to myself, ‘Let’s try it.’”

Bob died on July 20, 2026. My condolences go to Verna, Bob’s family, and the many gardeners who learned from him.

You can read more about Bob’s remarkable life—and find details of the August 24 celebration of life—in his obituary.