My favorite from along the fence this week.

This apple tree was sold to me in 1999 as a semi-dwarf Stayman Winesap. It is not semi-dwarf; it is in fact gigantic by apple tree standards. It isn't Stayman Winesap, or even red at all. Because I planted it in the correct spacing for smaller trees, it has almost completely overshadowed its nearest neighbor, a rather nice Golden Delicious. It responds to pruning by aggressively getting Much Larger. The apples are divine. I love her; I'm vexed by her; I hope she lives forever. I'm deeply curious about what I'd get if I planted some of her seeds.

Strawberries, rhubarb, two small blueberry bushes, and Nanking cherry bushes that did, even though their blooming time was cold, set fruit. I will continue to try to acidify the blueberries; maybe add some acid once a week until the soil tests around 5 pH.

Earthly Pleasure

Digital painting

Blue Ridge Mountains I

houseliftdesign

Pär Andersson 1978

And all at once, summer collapsed into fall.

-- Oscar Wilde

A picture from my favorite orchard, 10 years ago.

Spring, in the apple orchards

Karl Mediz (1868 - 1945) - Apple Tree by Lake Zurich. 1914. Oil on canvas.

flowering apple tree

2024/04/13