The Year of the Apple.

5-22-17 VERMONT: There was a lot of rain today. I did get out in mid-morning during a dry moment to buy tomatoes and herbs and a few flowers. Yesterday was nicer, and I planted a few things that I had brought up from the Farm in NJ. Conditions were actually dry yesterday, and I watered after planting.

I put another clematis, C. ‘Rhapsody’, at he north end of the deck next to the red clematis from last trip. This one is blue. I added a delphinium, D. x cultorum ‘Magic Fountains Mix’, to the delphinium cluster, and I added two hollyhocks to the bed below the deck, Alcea rosea ‘Single’ and ‘Chater’s Double Group Pink’. Some weeding also removed dandelions from the beds.

All the apple trees, including some trees I didn’t know were apples, are in bloom, and they are all covered in flowers. If the flowers indicate how much fruit we will get, it will be a gigantic apple crop, not only for us, but for the horses, deer, turkeys, other birds and anything else that eats apples.

New blooms: lilac, Mohican viburnum, spurge, quince, tiarella.


If the flowers end up as fruit, this will be a huge year for apples for us, the browsers and birds.

Lilac just opening.

Another apple, this one makes cherry-sized fruit, other trees in the background.

The only thing resembling sun today is spurge.