In the Garden: Fruit Blossoms

We spent another weekend out in the sun, tending to our garden. After a lot of hard work, it is looking much tidier... important, since as the weather improves, we are beginning to spend a lot more time in the yard. It is sweet to watch our little one get so fascinated by all of the many intriguing outdoor diversions, discovering the dirt and rocks and flowers and (sigh) dandelions.

I haven't seen many sprouts from the seeds I planted (at least, I am still pretty sure that most things sprouting up in the back veggie patch are weeds), but time will tell. The good news is that it is shaping up to be a good year for fruit. Last year, we had an amazing crop of apples (overwhelmingly so, as you may recall), and it looks like the apple tree will take the year off from fruiting, as we didn't see many blossoms at all. No matter; the blueberries are looking like they are finally taking off. We planted them about 3 years ago now, and have had modest yields from them in years past, but I think we will be rewarded for our patience this year. Just in time, too, since Cora is an insatiable blueberry eater. And of course, we'll be happy to add lots of fresh blueberries to our diets this summer since they are such nutritious little fruits, packed with antioxidants and vitamins. (Yes, I do occasionally mention nutrition on this blog!)

Baby bluebs

We are trying to coddle our strawberries this year, in hopes that they may reward us with their delicious fruit. More water and a nice soft bed of landscaping cloth should help to keep them happy and comfortable.

Strawberry blossoms

And, oh, the cherries! These little green nubbins will grow into precious jewels of perfect fruit--but these largely exist just to tantalize us, since our trees are so very tall that they are out of reach. We are hoping to find a very tall ladder to borrow, as I don't know if we can stand to forsake these beauties yet again. Well, at least the birds enjoy them if we can't.

Cherry nubbins

Lastly, our newest addition to the fruit family is a pair of grapevines. We picked them out at the nursery and had two choices: one producing a green seedless table grape, and one whose grapes were praised for their "attractive clusters." Can you guess which one I chose?

Grapevine leaves

Hope you all are enjoying a lovely spring!