The first day of Spring
Thursday March 20th 2014, 10:49 pm
Filed under: My Garden

Here it was two days ago. No flower buds.

The Fuji apple tree was coming more and more alive this past week, sprouts of leaves increasing a good half inch a day, while the Yellow Transparent sat there looking glum and dark and dead as winter.

Then yesterday the very first signs of buds began above those Fuji leaves (but with no stems to speak of 24 hours ago, look at that!) and I thought, well I guess the two apples won’t start blooming a day apart like last year.

But yesterday there was also the tiniest stirring of life on two branches of the Yellow Transparent, finally: a swelling at the tips just there and there that looked like they might open up into greenness at any minute.

Only they didn’t.  They turned pink instead and divided up into buds, that fast (last picture).  And there were more of them, clusters in a race with the Fuji’s with baby Transparent leaves as an afterthought. Quite a different growth pattern. Curious.  I can’t wait to take a picture of both of them in full flower, and I wish I could share how heavenly they smell when they do.

Why did it take so many years for me to really get into growing my own fruit when it’s so easy? Plant a stick and let it take it from there. I let the critters stop me. Not anymore.

Last year I learned that I need to snap those clamshells on the sweeter Fujis from the moment the apples form. I’m going to need to find a lot more of the things in the next two weeks. It’s a good problem to have.

And if you don’t want to fuss with the produce clamshells, I’m told that the wildlife leaves a friend’s Granny Smiths completely alone. All their family has to do is pick them.

 


3 Comments so far
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It is heartening to see those buds! I forced a few tulips and smell them every time I pass the vase.

Comment by twinsetellen 03.21.14 @ 8:35 pm

Beautiful. I love the tender greens of spring.

Comment by Channon 03.21.14 @ 8:59 pm

We had a Golden Delicious apple tree that gave us wonderful fruit usually every other year. In good years, the fruit was so abundant that the squirrels and birds could have as much as they wanted and still leave way more than we could use. It was at the end of its natural lifespan and threatening to drop a huge branch on someone when we finally took it out a few years ago. We redid the whole front yard, and now it’s much a more user-friendly area, we eat out there all summer and fall — but I do miss those apples.

Comment by Virginia 03.21.14 @ 9:22 pm



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