The apples, quince, nashi, crab apple and pear trees have come into flower recently here at Struan Farm. The plums and peaches are done with their show, having opened the season.
The good news is that there are heaps of pollinators working away with the new hives on the property. Having more of a good thing is a good thing in my view. Writing this last line brings to mind baseball coach Yogi Berra, known for quotes like "it ain't over til it's over" and "if you get to a fork in the road, take it." Yogi said things that either stated a keen sense of the obvious or were complete muddles that left everyone scratching their heads.
Of the two heirloom apple trees in the orchard area by our house Monty's Surprise is in bloom while Peasgood Nonsuch is starting to bud. Here's Monty:
Two of the three quince trees are thriving. I'm still hopeful the third will adjust to the move a year ago prompted by the roadside slip, but it's much smaller and struggling. We originally planted "Giant of Gascony" and "Smyrna," I'm just not sure at this point who is who. I suspect we may have lost the Smyrna. We had our first real fruiting last year so I'm optimistic the quince corner has (mostly) been turned.
Our nashi has two cross-pollinating varieties grafted into one tree, in this instance "Nijiseki/Hosui." The Nijiseki side fruits and flowers better than the Hosui, but perhaps that's what is meant to happen with one helping the other to thrive.
To quote Yogi, in the fruit orchard here at Struan Farm "it's like deja vu all over again!"
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