About ChicagoFigs

The Origin Story

From “Pure Madness” to a Backyard Mediterranean

It all started on a biting February evening. I was shuffling through the grocery store when I stumbled upon a clearance rack of dormant, skeletal-looking trees.

Up until that night, I was your typical gardener — tomatoes, cucumbers, the usual suspects. But there it was, tucked away in a cardboard box: a Chicago Hardy Fig. It felt like a dare. Could a Mediterranean treasure actually survive a Windy City winter, or was I falling for a bit of horticultural madness?

Against my better judgment, I brought it home. I spent the spring hovering over a giant container, doubting every inch of growth and obsessively researching if this was even possible.

That tiny, 9-inch stick didn’t just grow — it exploded. By the end of that first summer, it rewarded my “madness” with over 70 honey-sweet figs.

What started as a whim quickly turned into a full-blown obsession. After the success of the Chicago Hardy, came the Yellow Long Neck, followed by a dozen others. My garden isn’t just a garden anymore — it’s a collection of stories, one variety at a time.

The Collection Today

What began with a single clearance-rack tree has grown into a curated collection of over 30 fig varieties from across the globe — from Italian heirlooms like Violette de Bordeaux and Spadafora Dark, to Levantine heritage varieties like Palestinian Hmadi and Khurtmani, to Iranian candy-sweet Raasti and the legendary Black Madeira of Portugal.

Each tree has its own story, its own character, and its own reason for being here. This site is a living record of that collection — the growing notes, the tasting notes, the hard-won lessons, and the genuine joy of growing something extraordinary in a city where no one expects to find a fig tree.

I am ChicagoFigs, you can find me on FigFanatic as well as OurFigs. You can find me on YouTube as well using the same handle, @Chicagofigs.

Browse the full collection