Mini Orchard Completed

There has been much activity on the good weather days in the garden. And some on the not quite so good weather days.

The pear trees, gage and everything else I had ordered from J. Parkers arrived as a single delivery a week ago.

So straight on with the planting of the trees. And then trying to work out what pruning, if any, was needed. The conference pear had quite a few branches that I cut back. The Beth pear only had three branches above 18 inches and the Concorde a mere one...

The gage has been installed on the last remaining cane against the wall/railings.

So that completes the trees in the fruit tree bed - assuming they all survive! Still got space for some fruit bushes - I have planted two redcurrants that were cuttings from last year that had rooted. I have some rooted blackcurrant cuttings also in a pot but they will eventually go against the wall on the other side if they survive that long.

So far the only springing into obvious life is from the cherry tree.

I then quickly planted up the plug plant gentians which looked very healthy and monardas which didn't. I keep inspecting them to see if I can see any improvement - I will be lucky to get 4 out of 6 I reckon.

The next day was cold but I needed to plant the dicentras, paeonies and day lilies in the LBE.

However, the weather has improved this week and even Paul has been helping with removal of some of the dead shrubs and playing with bonfires to dispose of them. Two brooms out of the long bank and another small shrub from the high bank.

This then afforded a great opportunity with easy access to get him to cut the buddleia back there down to a stump.

Which in turn gave me the opportunity to relocate an acer from a winter broken pot...

I have done my annual snowdrop transplantation, adding small clumps to the trellis bed bank and the next couple of sections of the LBE.

The trellis bed itself has been tidied up.

Onion sets have been planted in the veggie patch.

The gooseberry bushes have been pruned - I am covered in little scratches now.

I have started on the high bank tidy up - autumn debris removal, nettle and bramble control. It really does get slightly better each year which is just as well as I get achier each year :)

I severely pruned back a couple of spiraeas and made one trip to almost the top to remove an enormous section of an unknown shrubby tree that had split under the weight of snow in the winter. There is a dead looking berberis up there which needs tackling. I am contemplating a total revamp of the middle section, which is still more or less the same as when we moved up here. Apart from three very nice paeonies the plants are not really to my liking. Hacking back the spiraea in the middle has opened it up and I think I may remove it permanently...

The garden is starting to get very colourful. Spring heathers, crocuses, daffodils, tulips, primroses... But my pick of the lot has got to be the hepatica, unfortunately now beginning to fade but I captured it at its peak...

The Pear Trees Cometh

So why did I say I was ahead of last year???

It was a cue for winter to return.

The only thing actually done in the garden was the planting of a Victoria plum (again from Morrison's) as a cordon on one of the remaining canes.

Still, the knitting is progressing. Front, back and first sleeve completed, and second sleeve well underway.

Word study also plodding along. Should hit the 30000 mark on 8s this week. More motivated now that the WSC has been confirmed (Warsaw in October) and Michael Tang's exciting announcement w.r.t. his expansion of the Causeway scrabble tourneys.

I have now ordered the four remaining fruit trees I wanted from J. Parker. An Imperial gage for the last cane and three pear trees (Beth, Concorde and Conference).

I am planning to grow the pears as dwarf pyramids - they are on Quince C 'dwarfing' rootstocks. So I have wasted a hell of a lot of time looking on the web for reasonably priced 2.4m tree stakes. And failing dismally - they are either cheap and the postage extortionate or expensive to start with. I really don't want to pay more for the stakes than the trees cost!

I have finally decided to improvise. I will get shorter stakes (1.2m) from Cheviot trees this afternoon and make my own taller stakes from binding three 8 foot bamboo canes together and hopefully attach them behind the tree stake.

It is getting a little late for planting pear trees, but as J Parker have taken the money, which they normally only do as the plants are dispatched, they are hopefully making their way here as I type.