Arbor Day 2018

Complete Tree Inventory

Diagram

Legend

Strawberries are a "Movable Feast" in
Various Planter Pots.

Quinalt

October 2013
RGD - Dwarf Stark® Double Delicious® Apple Red & Golden

CB - Dwarf Flowering Cherry Bush

May 2013
BP Dwarf Bartlett Pear

MG- Dwarf Moonglow Pear

June 2014
GA - Semi-Dwarf Stark® Golden Delicious Apple

February 2018
UMA- Dwarf Starkspur® UltraMac™ Apple

GD - Dwarf Starkspur® Golden Delicious Apple

ABA - Dwarf Starkspur® Arkansas Black Apple

CG - Concord Grape Vine

W - Blue Wisteria Vine

Buds and Blossoms on Arbor Day 04/27/18

"Ruby Ann" Strawberry Plants were uncovered from last year's growth on 2/24/18

The Ruby Ann Strawberry Plants have been repotted and around them are some "companion" marigolds, growing from seed. I like to have some potted strawberries near the door for guests to enjoy when they come to visit. Other varieties of strawberries from previous years and this year will also be found growing in movable planter pots. Most strawberry plants have little white and yellow flowers, but the Ruby Ann plants have red and yellow flowers.

Backyard Gardens

Diagram

Legend

Blueberries are currently in a planter.

Strawberries are a "Movable Feast" in
a 5 Tier Tall Planter

June 2008

CH - Red Cherry Tree
Cherry Picking in 2013

April 2009

JGA - Jonagold Apple Tree
(originally a "5 Apple" Tree)

?C Mystery Cherry Tree
(originally Van and Montmorency)

April 2010

RB - Red Raspberry "Patch"

?A - Mystery Apple Tree (between 2010 - 2014)

February 2018

SM - Dwarf SnappyMac® Apple

February 2018

BL - Top Hat Blueberry Planter

ST - Ozark Beauty Strawberry Tall Planter

The backyard gets sun from the south side most of the day, so it is up against the north side fence.

SM - The new SnappyMac Apple tree, a variation of my favorite Macintosh Apple, is off to a good start. It has been planted in the middle of the backyard tulip garden, so it has lots of company.

BL- This Top Hat Blueberry Plant will move about in a pot for 1 to 3 years, until it starts producing blueberries. I have had bad luck growing blueberries in the past, but I keep trying.

ST - These are Ozark Beauty Strawberries, growing in a 5 Tier Mr. Stacky planter. The xylophone mallets on top allow me to cover the planter with a clear plastic garbage bag to protect them from the cold nights we have been having, but soon they will be on their own. The planter will move from place to place, and gets rotated daily.

?A - The Mystery Apple tree is a mystery because I have forgotten its name. It grows miserable-tasting small green fuzzy apples, but it has cute pink flowers this time of year.

RB - At the base of the Mystery Apple Tree tree is the Red Raspberry Patch which came from three pots of Raspberry plants, that multiplied every year. One of the pots cracked, but two still remain adding new Raspberry shoots to continue to fill up the available space. By Fall, this will be filled with tall plants and provide hundreds of Red Raspberries in two stages - one at the beginning of Summer, and another batch at the beginning of Fall. Then, when the leaves have all died out, the tall stalks will be cut down and do it all over again next year.

?C - This "Mystery Cherry Tree" is showing flower blossoms developing for the first time. If it actually produces some kind of cherry (supposedly a two cherry tree - Van and Montmorency) it may continue to stay. Otherwise it will be replaced next year.

JGA - This was planted in 2010 as a "5 Apple Tree." So far it has not produced any apples at all and the only living branches still have the Jonagold label attached. This may be replaced with a more reliable fruit tree next year.

CH - The Original Red Cherry Tree that started my interest in having an orchard in 2008. Today 4/27/18 is the first day of blossoms emerging. It has been producing bountiful supplies of red cherries since 2011, requiring me to invent a "cherry picker" in 2013.


First Fruits Appear May 12, 2018 - the day before Mother's Day.


rosebuds

ConcordFlowers

Memorial Day Growth - 05/28/18

GA - Semi-Dwarf Stark® Golden Delicious Apple - by Memorial Day, the first signs of fruit are showing. This may be the year we get a small first harvest from the tree.

CB - Dwarf Flowering Cherry Bush - A disappointing number of cherry flowers actually turned into fruit from the Cherry Bush, but they will still be sweet and delicious. This may be ready to eat some time next month.

MG- Dwarf Moonglow Pear - The Pears are growing slowly, but getting larger day by day. They will not be ready for harvest until late August or early September.

W - Blue Wisteria Vine - It appears to be more pink or purple than blue, but that's because it is in the strong sunshine that just broke through. In the shadows or in the evening, it appears to be more blue. So far, only one bloom this year. I may have done too much pruning last fall.

BP Dwarf Bartlett Pear - The Bartlett Pears appeared shortly after the Moonglow Pears, so they will probably harvest later in August or September.

CH - Red Cherry Tree - Meanwhile, in the backyard, the Red Cherry tree is bursting with cherries which will soon be turning red and ready to eat by the end of June.

RB - Red Raspberry "Patch" - The backyard Red Raspberry Patch is showing the first signs of flowers, and even some of the first signs of fruit.

?A - Mystery Apple Tree - Just over the Raspberries, the Mystery Apple Tree has already produced its first fuzzy green "apples", or whatever they are.

?C Mystery Cherry Tree - There are long stem "somethings" growing on the Mystery Cherry Tree, although whether they are Van or Montmorency cherries will have to wait for further testing.

ST - Ozark Beauty - The Tall Planter is fast filling up with Ozark Beauty strawberries, days away from turning red, ripe and ready for tasting.

Meanwhile, the blue bag of Quinalt Everbearing Strawberries currently in the front garden, is also showing signs of forthcoming berries.

CG - Concord Grape Vine - The next stage in the Concord Grape life cycle is the opening of the little flower buds that appeared on May 12th. The pollen from the anther of the male part of the flower (the spidery looking "legs"), falls on the stigma of the female part (in the center of the "legs"), and grows down the style until it reaches the ovary, where it will penetrate the wall of the ovary so fertilisation can take place. More Information HERE:

05/30/18 The Nursery Table holds a variety of plants which need special care. L-R: As I was pruning the Concord grape vines, I accidentally cut off a living branch, which I hope will grow new roots and begin a new grape vine. Below that is a pot of germinating Johnny Jumpup seeds. Shakespeare mentions it as an ingredient for the love potion used in Midsummernight's Dream. Next comes germinating Hyssop seeds, mentioned in Psalm 51. Below them is a pot of germinating Petunias imported from China. At the bottom right is a pot of Outhouse Hollyhocks germinating. In the early days of East Orange, before indoor plumbing, the tall flowering Hollyhocks were grown around the outdoor building known as an "Outhouse" to help guide visitors and guests to that necessary part of every home. Finally, on the far right are three pots of Ruby Ann strawberry plants that survived the winter and are getting ready to produce another crop of berries soon. I grow them together with Marigold plants from recycled Marigold seeds taken from last year's Marigold flowers. They get along well and do not fight for space or light.


Final Fruit Harvest

05/26/18

The roses were buds that began appearing on the entrance trellis vine on Mother's Day (5/12/18). They stayed as buds until 5/25/18. Suddenly, on the morning of 5/26/18, I discovered they all had opened at once, making a nice display to begin the Memorial Day weekend. Technically, the final fruits of the rose bush will happen when the blossoms die off and the "rose hips" grow into "fruit" that most people throw away. Not me! I use them to make "Rose Hip Tea"! But that will be in the fall, and today we celebrate the roses as flowers.

 


06/15/18 Red Cherry Tree Ripening

Most of the cherries are still light green or yellow, but a few are beginning to turn bright red. It won't be long now until first harvest.

The grapes have further to grow, but from now on they will get larger and larger, and finally turn from green to dark purple towards the end of August.

The three Moonglow Pears shown above were trimmed down to the largest of the three, and it is beginning to take on the roly-poly shape of a pear.

The Bartlett Pears are not as fully developed as the Moonglow pears, but they are moving right along towards a future dessert.

This is the first year the Seedless Green Grapes have developed all the way into fruit. With any luck, we will have some competition for the Concord Grapes in the fall.

06/25/18 The first red raspberry arrives in East Orange. It is delicious, especially knowing that many, many more will soon follow. This is the beginning of the early summer harvest, and there will be a second harvest in late summer/ early fall.

Here is the same raspberry back in May when it first appeared.

concord


08/22/18 - The Concord Grapes are ready to be eaten! They are growing everywhere around the front garden, in the front hedges and along both arbor entrances. Pick ONLY the darkest purple grapes for the best taste! Please leave the green grapes alone and in time they will also turn purple.

One of the low hanging Bartlett Pears is ready to be plucked and ripened in the sun until it is yellow and juicy. The others high up in the tree will be left until they start to ripen where they grow (or until I find a ladder and a climber willing to risk the climb!).

09/02/18

This is the End of Summer Raspberry Harvest. The second harvest in September is always greater than the first harvest in June. The berries are also bigger and juicier!

In this one cluster there are enough red ripe raspberries to cover my morning breakfast cereal, and in a few days the rest of those pale berries will also be bright red, and a few days after that, the smaller berries will continue to add to the harvest. And that is just from one raspberry branch! This makes Fall worth waiting for!


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