Fruit trees are back

Two years ago when we first moved into our house we planted four fruit trees. Two Apples, one peach and one Cherry. We planted them late in the fall so we were very surprised when they flowered the following spring. We were even more surprised that fall when all but one of them produced.









That fall a year after planting we had the pleasure of eating two cherries, four apples and three peaches from our own trees that were just one year old.

This spring we were once again happy to see all four trees budding and we were hoping we would be lucky enough to have them all produce this year. I have been watching the trees closely this spring and am disappointed to say only three of them have leaves. The cherry tree still has small buds on it but they have been there for a couple of weeks now and no leaves have bloomed out.
I wish I could say it will bloom soon but the other three trees got their leaves a couple of weeks ago so I am starting to think the winter has damaged our young fruit tree.

The other tree that is disappointing right now is the apple tree that did not produce last fall. It got many leaves and then flower buds but the flowers bloomed one day and were gone the next. I do not think they had time to be germinated by the bees.
The leaves look great but there are no flowers like the other two. I hope it will surprise me and that the cherry will as well but for now I look forward to the apples and peaches from the other two trees. They look healthy and happy.

Early sign of spring

When I got home from work today I grabbed my camera and heading straight back out. I notice on my trip from the car to the house some early signs of spring that I just needed to capture before they based me by.
I love this time of year when the rain finally stops and the sun is shining high. Little buds start to form, small green leaves stick out between the leaves (left on the ground from last fall).
I can smell spring in the air and see growth all around me.
There are many early signs of spring but my favorite are the flowers. I love to see the crocuses that I plants my first fall in this house come up and almost flower from the first sight of them.
The other signs I look for is the buds on the bushes and trees. I noticed the fruit trees were also budding which is great because it reminds me of a special treat I will get when they produce this fall. Spring is special time of new growth, fresh starts and great life. I am glad I had this special moment to find these special treasures and the promise they will bring me in the future.

Waiting for Spring

When we first moved into our house a year and a half ago my husband and I planted four fruit trees, a peach, two apples (one pie apple and one eating apple), and a cherry tree. That spring we planted many more flowers around the yard and saw what plants were already growing around.

We also planted a garden, unfortunately that did not go over well. It started off the day we planted it by hailing an hour after we finish and not just any hail but grape size hail stones. Then the spring and summer were so wet that it was more of a swamp and the slugs took over. Though we got some yummy potatoes, some lettuce and a few other things not as great as we hoped. We did get some fruit that first year which was better then we thought since the trees were not even a year old.

This week I have been thinking about our plants, trees, gardens and land. Earlier this year I had received an invitation to join the arbor day foundation http://www.arborday.org/. I thought it was a great organization. I am really into nature and our environment so I sent in the $20 to join. Well this week I got a surprise, I received my membership card, a pamphlet of the trees, shrubs, and bushes they sell and a letter. The letter stated that I was now a member and would receive ten free trees in the mail between march and June depending on my planing zone, I would also receive another free gift. I can not wait to find out what it is. I was also very excited about the pamphlet because most of their trees are around $5 but I think the most expensive is $15. I was looking and reading all about each one trying to find out if I could plant any others in our already crowded yard. I am not sure where I will even put the free ones but have many ideas for future planting.