I came home the other day and found a huge box on the front porch. My first reaction was, "What has Reza ordered NOW?!" because it did resemble the box that the large screen came in several years ago. But no, this was the cherry orchard and the fig forest that I ordered from RainTree Nursery up in Washington.
I ordered three cherry trees and as you can see, they came in good order:
I have their bare roots sitting in a tub of water until I can dig some holes.
One is so happy to be here, it has put on some cherry blossoms!
Three fig trees of different colors and temperments were also shipped in the same package. Here they sit, also ready to be planted:
Cherry season is almost over here at the Esther Cottage, with a few, very ripe cherries still hanging around. I can't believe we ever thought that this cherry might be a Rannier, I guess that they tasted so good with just a blush and we were unable to wait!
A few volunteer morning glories have poked themselves out to the ground near the side fence and I gave them a string ladder to climb. Of course, both my dad and my brother warned me about the scourge of morning glories, but they remind me of the little house I lived in during my Turlock years. I planted morning glories surrounding the porch, giving myself a shady room for those long, hot Turlock afternoons!
The apricots along the driveway are starting to ripen, but don't let this photo fool you, they are dead green on the side away from the camera. They are huge, though, and it looks like the three trees will ripen at different times, giving us weeks of apricots (those that escaped Papa's "thinning"):
The tomatoes are looking good, dontcha think? I am allowing the flowers to stay on, so we should have some tomatoes to eat in about ten days:
...or sooner, if this plant has anything to say about it:
Anyway, it's been great showing you all the new stuff around the garden, but it's still blessed hot, so I will chill out on the porch and try and find a cool breeze:
and enjoy the smell of the gardena:
Wishing you cool breezes and warm, soft summer evenings,
love you, Kellyann
7 comments:
What a lovely garden Ms. Kelly! I am sooo envious of those apricots! And tomatoes.... already?!
those sneaky tomatoes slipped through my "thinning" process of letting the tomato grow infrastructure before allowing fruit. Oh well! I love the smell when I arrange the tomato plant to rely on the cages. Today a hummingbird used my spray to take a tiny shower. Really, the backyard gives us much more than we give it!
I think you live in the Garden of Eden for sure! Just think of all the fruit you will be picking in just a few years.
When I taught middle school in Sunnyvale, my students had to memorize a poem called "The Valley of Hearts Delight" before they could visit the historical museum. So, you can imagine getting ten Special Day Class students to memorize this five stanza poem about the orchards that existed before their suburban city!
The Valley of Heart's Delight
The Santa Clara Valley is
to those who hold it dear
A beautiful, rich paradise
Each season of the year.
One loves it best in April
When the fruit trees are in bloom.
And a mass of snowy blossoms
Brings a subtle sweet perfume.
When orchard after orchard
Is spread before the eyes
With the whitest of white blossoms
'Neath the bluest of blue skies.
No brush can paint the picture
No pen describe the sight
That one can find in April
In the Valley of Heart's Delight.
-Clara Louise Lawrence
Oh, that's so awesome!
How did you pick your particular trees? (I'm trying to shoe-horn more fruit into our tiny garden.)
as you know... when you buy an established house, you get the visions of other gardeners. The new trees are pure and simple lust from an website. Raintree nursery seduced me with their pictures and their descriptions of the different figs and cherries. It was a late-night break-from-dissertation impulse buy which turned out pretty cool. I have to stop these breaks... I just bought a kindle from woot.com!! ::laugh::
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