The Orchard.

If I'm going to have a meadow, I should really have an orchard too. And all this on half an acre where 1/3 of the space is driveway, house, or mature trees. I wonder if I can purchase sunlight?

In any case, I was told to mark the fruit trees half price. I didn't really need a 20' wide Morris plum tree, but I have one now. I planted it this morning beyond the lower potager. I filled the very large hole (which, for some reason, was very easy to dig this morning) with cow manure compost and created a small berm to retain water. This area is very dry in summer, but I'm hoping the leaf cover from this fall will start adding new organic material to the soil. In February, I'm intending to sow seeds of creeping thyme back here.



Also part of the orchard, which runs from the upper potager, along the wild, all the way to the gully, there's a sad little Montmorency cherry that I planted this spring. It's a dwarf variety and spent most of the summer struggling as I wasn't able to get back there and water while on crutches. The twigs are still green when snapped, so I hope it comes back in the spring. If not, I probably don't have room for it anyway.



There's also the spring planted Belle of Georgia peach. It has white fruit.



Then the Apache blackberry.



Two blueberry bushes.





The first of three figs. I think the others may get planted in the area under the dead oak tree.



And the Thundercloud Plum. This variety may or may not produce plums, but I'm hoping that it will give me some color and variety in the backyard. It will be transplanted this fall as soon as it starts to lose its leaves in earnest.



I found enough stone in the woods to finish edging the crape myrtle bed.



I have two beds left that need stone. The largest is the shrub border in the very middle of the back yard. Above that, the rose garden needs some attending to as well. Along the front side, I planted strawberries.



I'm not sure where to put my three seedless grapevines that are currently struggling for sunlight along the back edge of the upper potager. The soil back there is hard packed clay full of roots. Maybe I'll stick a couple 4x4s into the middle of the meadow and let them have at it. I'll really need to amend the soil a lot better than I did when I first planted them. Poor things have been moved three times since I got them last year off the clearance rack. They were the first fruits I bought. Oh, what a mistake that might have been.

It's 57 and overcast. Heading to Morrow Mountain today to take a look at some leaves. Apparently, they have them there too. No rain in the forecast today, but the clouds and my right leg say otherwise. Going to shred a few more leaves before Laura arrives. They'll get dumped into the crape myrtle bed, hopefully finishing that area for the week. I'll move on to the potager beds next week forking in the leaves I collect from Larry's yard.

Frost warning

Last night about 9pm, a frost warning popped up on Accuweather. That's the firefox browser plug-in that I use. This morning, there's no sign of frost on the houses nearby, nor on my truck, nor anywhere that I can see. It could still form, but the chances are slim. My window mounted thermometer reads 48 degrees. Accuweather tells me it's 34 and sunny. I think someone is lying.

Yesterday I planted 6 white azaleas in the backyard. Three went into the rear beds near the Fragrant tea olives. The other three went behind the white bed. The three near the house should reach a size of about 3' x 3'. The three along the edge of the woods will reach 6' x 6'. That should give me a nice border for that bed. Cheap plants are great. $2 each for the azaleas in 1 gallon pots.

I did splurge a bit on the semi-dwarf cherry tree I purchased. I got a self-fertile variety named Montmorency Cherry. It's hardy to zone 7, but the Arbor Day map shows I am in zone 8. The USDA map shows us in zone 7b. We'll see how it performs next winter. It needs 700 chill hours to produce. It's beginning to bloom now. I doubt cherries will develop this year.

I also bought 3 more six packs of white petunias for the back beds. The plan is coming together. My kongmansia (brug) that I lost over the winter is being replaced next week. Two cuttings both rooted, but slowly died. It will be planted somewhere in the white beds. The blooms of this brugmansia should be about 18-24" long and as round as the average man's head. This time I'll be getting a plant instead of cuttings.

I also moved one of my pampas grass clumps. I'll replace it with my rooted fig tree cuttings in a few more weeks. It came out easily. I placed it in the backyard along the edge of the woods to hide the compost bin area. I might divide it this fall to create a larger screen, sooner.

No work planned for the yard today, though I might crank the lawnmower before heading to work at noon. I spent the evening in my chair in the backyard. A bobwhite was perched in the redbud tree. Doves were enjoying the fresh water in the bird bath. Robins are chasing things all over the ground. Even Daomai ventured outside for a few minutes. There was no sign of the owls.

11:03am - Lunch! It's 55 degrees and sunny. I planted the 18 petunias along the rear bed of the house. I planted out some more sunflowers in the cherry tomato bed. I planted out white and green zinnias in the white bed. And I gave everything a good long drink of water from the hose. Only the baby seedlings need water. Those plants that were put out in January and February aren't thirsty at all. I hope once my beds fill out, there won't be a need to water as much as I have in the past. More rain is forecast for Sunday, so I may try to fertilize a bit before then. I'm tempted to sow my corn and beans on Saturday, but I'm trying to wait until the 25th when the almanac tells me it's a better time. Patience, caterpillar.