We had a nice weekend, how about you? They go by too fast as always. Our son was home for the weekend. We took our daughter and him out to eat Saturday night and had a good visit. One thing hubby and I discussed was the upcoming projects in the house and outside. I'm glad our children are always interested and have good ideas. Two four heads are better than one two, I always say.
One of our spring projects will be buying fruit trees to plant in the yard. We're thinking about dwarf trees because they don't get so tall we can't get to the fruit. And they bear fruit a bit quicker, too. Now the varieties and the number of trees we have yet to decide upon. Anyone out in blogland have these type trees? And if you do, would you tell me how you like them? We've had some fruit trees when we lived at our previous location, but I'm not sure what type of tree they were since they were mature when we moved there. I'm thinking only about 3 apple and 3 peach. Hubby says maybe a cherry for the birds!
Speaking of the birds, I hope to get my Bird Count done tomorrow. I've not seen many birds since the weather has warmed up. Of course, while I was busy today cooking, I saw a few birds out my kitchen window. Isn't that the way it goes? Just when I didn't have time to jot down the information. Maybe tomorrow will be a good day for bird counting.
What have you planned for your lawn and garden this spring?
Until next time...
I getting started also..........age makes me want to down size but need makes me want bigger! will see which wins! find myself counting birds now.thanks to you! why did you put that in my head tee hee lol!
ReplyDeleteHi Cheryl, We don't have any fruit trees in our yard --so I can't help you. I'm sure you will get some great ideas.
ReplyDeleteGlad you got to see your son this weekend... With him and your daughter there, I'm sure you all got some GREAT ideas for Spring.
My hubby always has a project going. Usually it is a way to make the rose beds better...
Have a great week.
Hugs,
Betsy
Hey Girl...Did I ever mention that we are in the Nursery Business....My husband grows all kinds of fruit trees. However, pecan trees are the main source of income.
ReplyDeleteI'll ask him about the dwarf apples and see what kind of feedback he has had on them....He sells trees all over the country and probably has customers in your area.
Thank you for always dropping by to visit me. I just love my blogger friends...Sweet Blessings!
Shug
I've not allowed myself to think too far ahead, though I did look at fruit trees (pears) in the seed catalog. All the best with the bird count.
ReplyDeleteMs Bon...I agree about the age factor. My head tells me to not plan so big, but my heart says "do it."
ReplyDeleteBetsy...I wish I had your hubby's green thumb for roses! He raises some very beautiful ones.
Shug...I'll be interested to learn what your hubby thinks about dwarf fruit trees! Thanks for your sweet comment.
Vee...I got the bird count done! And saw my first robin this year...32 of them to be exact! They didn't stick around long, but some of them will be back.
I would love to have fruit trees that actually bore fruit.!!
ReplyDeleteWe have 3 apple trees,2 plum,1 pear and a cherry,non of them fruit.We did get one big cherry last year,the only one ever,in 30 years.!! We are too high up the mountain for fruit trees .
My main garden project this year is to have a rose garden.We have a small walled area which gets the sun and I am hoping the roses will do well here.We have the odd rose bushes in the main garden,but like the fruit trees,they do not thrive.
Good luck with your project.
Hi Cheryl!
ReplyDeleteWe have fruit trees here on the farm but they were already here when we moved in and they are old. I don't think anyone has EVER pruned them other than branches that they bumped their heads on while mowing. Ours are way too tall to get the fruit from the top and last year the birds got nearly all the fruit when we were gone into town. They are just too tall to cover with nets. We have two plum trees that are now short enough (after I pruned them) that we could try covering. I would go with the shorter variety of fruit tree if I were you. In British Columbia in the Okanagan Valley orchards are big business and I have seen some very short tree's just plastered with fruit so I'm thinking that's what we'll do eventually. I think they would be a good choice for you if you're not looking for shade and only fruit. Good luck making your choices!
Maura :)
We have one dwarf peach tree. Two years ago I was watching it closely until the right time to pick them came. When it came, all of the peaches were gone. I think it was squirrels. Last year, hoping to outsmart those buggers, we covered the tree in netting. It didn't work. They still disappeared. I don't know when they do it as I never catch them in action. This has kind of discouraged me from planting any more fruit trees.
ReplyDeleteWhatever you decide, I hope you have better luck than I do.
Our Spring is a ways off yet..I don't dare to even hope for Spring yet. We usually don't plant until June first and then we have a short growing season. Have a great week :D
ReplyDeleteMatron...good luck with your roses. I'm hoping to plant a few more Knockout roses this year, that is about the only one I have luck with.
ReplyDeleteMaura...the taller trees are the kind we had at our previous residence. We couldn't reach the top either and would shake the branches trying to get them to fall! The birds were happy with the ones we couldn't get.
H&H...here our problem will be the deer. They have been known to eat our entire garden and even rose buds off the bushes!
Julie...I hadn't realized you had such a short growing season where you are, but it's such a beautiful setting, tho!
Your picture indicates that Spring must be around the corner; I certainly hope so. We too are will be in the planning stage to plant some trees this year. I will be interested in the comments.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to having some warm weather; however the forcastis more snow. At least today the sun is shinning.
Blessings to you! LeAnn
LeAnn...I'm really just planning and not ready to plant. I wanted to get ideas for what kind of fruit trees people had/recommend. According to some websites, we could have more snow yet. But it's fun to look at the gardening catalogs and plan!
ReplyDeleteHi Cheryl!
ReplyDeleteIt seems like forever since I have had time to sit down and comment, so I've been catching up on all of your posts!
I am anxious to see your bird count! I know that there are so many beautiful birds in Missiouri!
Moles! We have the same problem with mice, they really do tons of damage to our lawns! I wish I had a solution for you, but my only advise is get a big cat!
Planning is one of my favorite things to do when it comes to vacations and yards! I also want some fruit trees. I'm anxious to read what others suggest on your blog. I would love to have an apple tree, and not have to worry about buying them to make applesauce! We are too cold here for most pears and peaches, but plums do well.
The picture of the moon is beautiful! It must have been a wonderful, clear night.
Have a wonderful week!
Hugs,
Barb
P.S. I hope you have a wonderful vacation, wherever you decide to go! I think we all need one after this very long winter!
ReplyDeleteHugs again,
Barb
Cheryl we had some old peach trees when we moved here and in '08 and Three Rivers or someone they contracted defoliated them. They died. We were kinda sad but we knew it had to be done. We would rather that then have problems with no power during storms. BUT we have a bunch of baby peach trees popping up all over and CH is all excited. We shall see. We won't ever see anything from them but it is fun to watch them. I have no suggestions but I will be looking forward to what Shug has to say and seeing how happy you are over what to plant Cheryl. Those few nice days spoiled me and now I have a cranky going on because I was going to walk, walk, walk and lose about 5 pounds so I could get into the dress for my niece's wedding this Saturday. I didn't lose one dang pound, but I did gain two!
ReplyDeleteI just want green beans this year!
Barb...it's so good to see you online, we've missed you! Picking your own apples to make a pie or just to eat does sound good, doesn't it? We have all this space so we might as well make use of it! And I like plums, too. Maybe I should add one or two? Sounds like I'm making a lot of work for myself, doesn't it? :D
ReplyDeleteRambler...gosh, that's a shame to lose so many trees. Why won't you see any fruit from the new ones? Are you moving? (me being nosy) I can't wait until Shug tells me what her hubby thinks. And girl, I don't think 5 lbs would hurt you one bit! Green beans? Yes, I love them too, but the one thing I really long for is home grown tomatoes. Can't wait!
Hi Cheryl! Thanks for your visit! I'm anxious for my gardening to begin, too. I was gonna tell ya - we have peach and plum trees. I think it just all depends on how you prune them as to if you can reach them or not. You keep 'em kinda blocked off on top and trim off any branches that "drip" downward. If they don't reach up, then off they go. THey'll grow out sideways more than up. Peaches seem to do better about that, but I'm trying to keep my plum trimmed that way, too. You can google how to prune peach/plum trees, too!
ReplyDeleteI would love to have some apple trees, but I don't know how well they'd do in the dry hot Texas summers. Take care!
Vickie...thanks for the advice about pruning. I guess I didn't realize that you could keep the tops pruned so they wouldn't grow so tall!
ReplyDeleteNope no plans to move yet :) But these trees are teeny, about a foot and I think it could be a bit before they grow up and start producing edible fruit. Are we ready for the weather ride for the next few days?!
ReplyDeleteCheryl, sorry I am just getting around to reading responding to this.
ReplyDeleteI tell everyone living in Missouri to start with MU's Extension - Horticulture Division for any advice about growing anything in Missouri.
Here is a link for peaches and you can take it from there for whatever fruit you are interested in.
First comment about apples is look for a fireblight resistant variety.
Last year fireblight hit apples and pears and I may have lost some I had to prune so severely. Missouri is a bad state for fireblight!!
My thought about dwarf versus semi-dwarf is this if you are older (like me) you might choose dwarf. Semi-dwarfs are supposed to be stronger and longer living but dwarfs produce a little faster.
I had a very good crop of peaches last year and even beat the Japanese beetles to them! That is another real problem. They love apples, plums and peaches and roses, and everything that I have growing.
One peach is supposed to be Red Haven and the other ??.
My apples are very young and I just got l from my Grimes Golden and a few from my summer apple Lodi.
I have coming this spring,
Madison Peach, Gloria peach, Liberty apple, Shiro plum and Quees Rosa Plum.
You can't go wrong with a pie cherry and so far, only the Mocking Bird eats some from the top that I can reach anyway. I think mine is North Star. No spraying required.
Rambler...ahhh, I didn't realize the trees were that small. And I just glanced out the window and it's beginning to snow!! Will it ever end?
ReplyDeletegld...Thank You so much for all the useful information! I really appreciate this!