The apricot tree in the yard burst into bloom over night, Monday night. This tree is a different variety than the other tree…the old apricot tree.
This one is only 40 years old. I planted it when we moved here 40 years ago. It, too, is a heritage apricot, but it produces a lighted apricot colored fruit. The fruit is sweet and make wonderful jams.
Yes you can tell the difference between the two jams if you don’t mix the fruit while canning.
Now for having fruit trees in your yard, I have a couple of prune trees, four pear trees, several sour cherry trees and two standard delicious trees. You see I was raised on an orchard. My grandfather had 60 acres of all sorts of different fruit and my Dad had 180 acres of all types of different fruit.
I missed the trees when I moved to here, their lovely blooms, the deep shade under their branches and climbing into the trees and finding bird nests, and I missed the humming of the honey bees.
(We have lots of bees because we do NOT spray for bad bugs, but allow the good bugs to do their thing.)
So I planted fruit trees in my yard.
I would never ever in a million years do that again.
NEVER!
While it works well to live in the middle of an orchard, the house is usually in a ‘space’ of it’s own. Having the trees right with you in the house space is very different. The problem occurs when the fruit comes on —- the fruit drops and turns to mush if you don’t get out there immediately and pick it up. The birds get most of the fruit because you work and can’t get out there the second the fruit even thinks about turning ripe, the trees grow BIG and BIGGER and BIGGEST and of course the best fruit is UP THERE! (So you must and have to prune…you can’t NOT prune, which is a winter job.)
Since the best fruit is UP THERE the birds get it first and they only peck on one side or they only peck on one spot. After all it is a bird buffet and there is so much to choose from, so that fruit is gone, even after you pick it. If you don’t get it picked ON TIME, then the fruit drops onto the grass or the flower bed or the side walk, whereby YOU MUST GET OUT THERE AND GET IT CLEANED UP NOW!
If you have little kids its a great job for them, but little kids grow up and leave so the job becomes yours.
Still I have all of the same fruit trees I planted when we moved here, I put up with the mess. I enjoy the bees who are very happy to have delightful food the first thing in spring, and the birds who feast on the fruit. I can, I bake, I freeze and yes….
I pick up fruit by the wheel barrow loads before the mush turns into an ant feast.
Come spring, I fall in love with each and everyone of my fruit trees all over again.
And this is why!
The trees in spring always bring me this delightful surprise!
Linda
Life on a Colorado Farm 
Wow, that heritage stock sure gets big! I don’t think hybrid apricot trees get that big.
I can understand how that many fruit trees would get to be a bother, despite all the yummy fruit.
Glad they still bring you joy—heralding the beginning of spring. 🙂
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Interesting post, Linda… I love seeing all of the pretty fruit trees when they bloom in spring… I never thought about all of the mess they cause at other times.. BUT–your birds are happy!!!!! ha
We had a couple of apple trees in our yard and a crabapple tree –when I grew up in VA. Mom made the best crabapple jelly each year (haven’t had any in years) and she also made fried apples for breakfast using those sour green apples from our apple trees….
We don’t have any ‘fruit’ trees in our yard –and after reading this post, I’m glad we don’t… We have enough trouble with deer now… Just imagine how much they would love those apples on the ground!!!!! ha
Have a great day.
Hugs,
Betsy
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I bet the honey from those bees would be delightful!
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Beautiful blooms. Thanks for sharing your picture and your experience. :o)
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beautiful tree and man your place looks dry! please do not look at the pic of my butchered pear tree today, being from an orchard you will wince but it was for its OWN GOOD! now it will fruit! Your apricots must be wonderful to eat from the tree if you can beat the birds!! c
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I wish I could have a few fruit trees. They are developing more trees that tolerate our climate. we’ve always had crab apples. Now we can grow some decent apple trees/ There are also some cherry trees that survive. No apricots though.
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In spite of all the work, having a bird and bee buffet has got to be rewarding.
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Now that is a tree! We planted apple and some other fruit trees out in the back pasture a couple of years ago, we even had some plums last year.
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I guess this is another reason I neeeeeeed to have a piece of land someday. I can plant myself some trees on the back 40 away from the house. 😉 Spring is in full bloom here too. There are so many flowering trees here in PA, it is just beautiful!
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How interesting to hear about fruit trees from a different perspective – something one would only know having been there and done that! We have two apple trees and a cherry tree we planted last year. I think it will be a while before we have to worry about the mess!
When I was growing up we had a stand of some sort of pear tree. The pears were rock hard so we never did a thing with them. In the spring we had to tie the dog up until we cleaned up the mess as the pears would ferment under the snow and she’d get drunk from eating them!
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I have a love-hate with my fruit trees (citrus) but I absolutely refuse to buy my family juice when there is fruit out there!
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Our little orchard is right next to the house so I can relate to every single one of your issues. I complain when it’s time to prune, especially. But I love those trees just the same. There isn’t anything like a fruit tree in bloom.
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I envey you! Hope my crab apple trees don’t get to cold and we don’tget a frost . They sure will be pretty and also my lilac bush have 2 of them, a older one and a newer one. The crab tree sare my sons bought me for Mother Day and the other is one I bought in memory of my dad who past at age 90. Yesterday while walking around the yard I spotted a flower I’ve never seen before it was purple and white, think it was a snow drop.Lived here since my youngest was 5 yrs old and he is 36 now. Never seen it before this, weird.
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Linda, your post today was so funny to me. It brought back pictures of my mother in the back yard, hacking down an apricot tree that was loaded with fruit. She said, “There’s too much dang fruit on this tree! I can’t can it all.” When she died she left us with a basement full of canned fruit, but that tree just got to her one day. I plant fruit trees just to see the flowers and to feed the birds, and the chickens take care of the rest. Enjoy spring!
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You need one of those cherry pickers to prune and pick..obviously your fruit trees were not of the dwarf variety..however you are very fortunate to be able to grow so many fruit trees:)
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