Saturday 11 February 2017

The Darling Buds of February.



It's never wise to predict the arrival of Spring, but we have Daffs beginning to poke their heads above ground, apparently Cranes have been seen overhead, returning to their breeding grounds, and our Prunus tree buds (in this case a small red fleshed Plum) are swelling.

It's at this time of year that the Peaches also start to think about flowering, and Mother Nature can be a right bitch.

Plenty of warm daytime sunshine and they are fooled into thinking it's OK to flower, then along she comes and throws some -6 C temperatures at them; and no fruit for another year.

It's for this reason that I try to plant late flowering varieties of all our fruit trees.

C'est la vie!

p.s. With another grandchild about to arrive, my thoughts have turned to what fruit tree I will plant to mark the event; I always plant a tree on the day of arrival.

I recently bought some apples from my favourite supermarket; they were a new variety to me called Pink Kiss.

They are delicious. Medium sweet, very perfumed, a pleasant crunch, good flavour, and a fabulous colour; what more could one ask for!

I went hot-foot to my horticultural supplier, and she disappointingly informed me that they are not available. They are sold only in large numbers to commercial growers. I will have to wait several years for them to come on the market.

So, instead I'll probably go for a Royal Gala.



28 comments:

  1. I have snowdrops in profusion and the daffs are making a show. Already.

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    Replies
    1. I have seen a few flowering daffs around, but ours are dwarf daffs which flower a bit later. At present the leaves are about 4 ins high.

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  2. That is the bluest bit of sky I have seen for months. Roll on Spring!

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    Replies
    1. Lovely Spring-like days here; still cold at night.

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  3. We have some sort of spring flowers, not ,raffa though and the almond trees have blossomed.
    Wonderful idea of yours to plant a tree in celebration!

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  4. A dusting of snow here. Looks pretty cold.

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  5. I hope Mother Nature is kind this year. I want cherries!

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  6. Would a " Pink Lady " apple be similar to the Pink Kiss? the description sounds very much like it. I'm sure you can buy these trees.....

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    Replies
    1. It may even be the same apple, but produced by a different Co. Even Pink Ladies don't seem to be sold here.

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  7. The only buds I've seen are in the off-licence. I'm watching the skiing from St Moritz. On TV that is. It's -2C here today, so quite warm.

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    Replies
    1. Just back from airport run, and the sun is shining. 11 C.

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  8. The warm days here have also fooled our trees. Buds are on bushes and the willows have that light tinge of yellow green. That is always an optimistic sign of an early spring. Hopefully, that will be the case.

    I love your tradition of planting a tree for each new grandchild.

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    Replies
    1. They're all very proud of their trees; hopefully the next one will be too.

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  9. I think that is a lovely tradition you have, planting a tree when a grandchild is born. Do the older grandchildren know which tree is "theirs"? -Jenn

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    Replies
    1. Indeed they do, and they love eating their own fruits. We have 2 grandsons with us at the moment, and their special fruits will be taken from the freezer.

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  10. I love the idea of planting a tree for each child. The latest one is due next month, eh? Do you know the sex?

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    Replies
    1. No, but he/she is provisionally known (by us) as Bunty.

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  11. "Pink kiss", very feminine. May be a girl:)
    Greetings Maria x

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    Replies
    1. With 5 grandSONS, it would be nice to have a girl. We will, of course, be happy with either!

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  12. Do the apples you bought have seeds in them? Can you try to start them as seedlings, or does that take too long?

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