Orchard Tour!

Nearly the moment the chilly blanket of snow and ice was lifted, it was as if the earth breathed a happy sigh and began growing! Never mind that we have still had some cold weather in the weeks since then…the taste of spring has been inspiring and lots of projects have been underway around our homestead.

One of these exciting projects has been planting young fruit trees and blueberry bushes. As I have written of before, we had a small apple orchard when I was a child, along with several other fruiting trees and bushes, on our 5-acre spread. In 2015 I started my own fruit-growing experience by planting several blueberry bushes in the garden and loved getting to watch them grow to maturity. Since we’ve moved, I’ve been so ready to get new plants in the ground and literally put down roots here at our new home!

As I’ve mentioned before, my dad has curated a lovely collection of young plants and grafts he did himself, so we’ve had the absolute luxury of plenty to choose from! Over the past few months, with the plants in their dormant stage, it’s been the perfect time to plant them. So far we’ve added pears, apples, cherries, and blueberries to our place. I’d love to take you on a little tour.

The pears stand in a row near the property line to the east. We planted two European pears, Hawkins and Warren, one at each end of the row. In between them there are four Asian varieties – Shinseiki, Korean Giant, Shinko, and Tennosi.

Toward the road to the north, Daddy planted four cherry trees. He’s trying a configuration of three, planted closely together, with a trio of Carmine Jewel, Royal Anne, and Compact Stella. The other is a singular planting of the North Star pie cherry. Some of these trees were first planted across the yard, but were moved out of the danger zone before we had a large oak tree cut down. They seem very happy in their new home.

Up the gentle hill from the pears, we have two rows of blueberries. Blueberries are one of my favorite things! So, please forgive me while I pause here to interject a piece of advice I have adopted for myself. Wherever you happen to find yourself, plant at least one blueberry plant if at all possible. 😀 Even if you don’t get to enjoy them yourself, someone else probably will, and they enrich the landscape so much!

While we were busy digging our holes, we had a wonderful elderly couple come by our homestead to purchase blueberry plants. The gentleman informed us he is 86 years old and he proceeded to buy 12 plants, saying he should have done this years ago. The fact that he had put it off did not stop him from doing it now – and I love that! So, by all means – I encourage everyone who has any interest to put in some blueberry plants. You’ll be glad you did!

But, yes, back to our new blueberry patch. So far, it’s a mixture of rabbiteye varieties, which tend to be taller bushes when left to their own devices. Let’s see, there is Delight (one of my favorites!), Tifblue (another favorite!), Brightwell, Premier, Powderblue, and a couple others that are new for us. We are hoping to fill in with Northern highbush varieties next, as we have time and energy.

Further along the property line, toward the south, we decided to plant some apple trees. I’m so excited about this newly created area! The location is nearby the garden area and will also hopefully provide a bit of a screen from the neighbors in time. The placement of these trees was the subject of much thought! Daddy and I decided we are much more naturally inclined to linear thinking – straight lines of trees, squared with the fence line! But for this, we wanted to be a bit more artistic…I don’t know how many times we rearranged the trees in pots and considered them from many angles. In the end, we made a planting of three apple trees, arranged in a very gentle arch! 🙂

The apples are Liberty, Jonafree, and Akane varieties – and we planted two more blueberry bushes in front of them. One is an O’Neil, a Southern highbush that we’re excited to try, and the other is a vigorous bush that lost its tag. I have an educated guess that it’s a Powderblue, but as I may never know for sure, I have a feeling it will be one of my favorites and an outstanding producer! I love this planting and will be excited to watch it grow, Lord willing, as the seasons progress.

It has been very special to plant these trees and bushes with my Daddy. While we work toward our vision for this piece of ground, we talk, and I’ve learned so much from this man I respect so much. Daddy has such a wealth of knowledge, a love for growing things, and a desire to follow God in everything.

Each step is a project I’m grateful to work on together…selecting the site, pulling back the sod, working up the soil, adding amendments, talking over the elements, making the measurements, and finally adding the young tree itself – so full of possibility.

That’s one thing I love – when you plant and work together, you’re not just growing food, you’re growing friendships.

Well, there’s a tour of what’s been going in the ground in my small corner! I also have some “De 18 Jours” radishes popped up in the garden. I’ve been wanting to try these…they say this variety will produce usable roots in 18 days under ideal conditions! And our onion starts from Dixondale Farms are out and growing. Spring is such a wonderful time, isn’t it?

I’d love to hear from you! Do you have any fruit trees or bushes planted? If so, do you have any tips for me? What’s one thing you wished you would have done years ago? Could you get started today?

Thanks for reading – and may God bless you!

Because of Jesus,
Maggie ♥