We have a really small back-garden but try and provide different habitats in different areas. Today a peek at the bottom of the garden
1. Our family apple tree has three different varieties grafted on to a single rootstock. I have no idea what the varieties are but we have a lovely sweet little eater that comes along fairly early in the season, a versatile smallish cooker that is quite late and makes great apple pies and another that sort of sits in between them. We always leave the last few apples on the tree for the blackbirds to enjoy but this time of year it's all about that blossom just watching and waiting for it to burst - it won't be long now.
2. Underneath the apple tree our mini-woodland garden always looks it's best in the spring. It's a mix of inherited from previous owners, planted deliberately and "leave-it-and- see-what-it-is' ".
3. Peek through the trees branches from the path and you get a glimpse of the bank behind the little wildlife pond where colour is just starting to emerge from the many different greens. The dustbin is of course a compost bin.
4. Over on the bank the inherited red tulips that have lived here longer than we have are highlighted by geranium foliage brought from my gran's garden and cornflowers from the allotment, ferns and privet. Dead tree chopped and left for critters to colonise but the cleavers, snowberry and sycamore seedlings are less welcome ...
5. Further along the bank the bluebells are just starting to flower, we'll need to do battle with the snowberry again soon as left unchecked it dominates everything.
6. Finally for today, next to the pond the violets are starting to give way to the dandelions and the herb robert and grasses are starting to grow. The dead-nettles and forget-me-nots continue to delight and provide food for whatever needs it.
Bye for now.
Hello Tanya. My neighbour is talking gravely about felling his old apple tree. This would be a shame as it overhangs our garden providing a lot of cookers for us. Perhaps I can replace it with a family tree like yours! Hope to see you again soon.
ReplyDeleteIt's a great tree and at least if you're starting from scratch you get to pick the varieties! Thanks for stopping by and I'll definitely be joining in again.
ReplyDeleteI'm a fan of family apple trees, shop bought or home made. I'm up to 5 grafted on varieties on what started as 'Elstar'. If you've only room for one tree it makes perfect sense.
ReplyDeleteWe tend to mention them a lot whenever folk ask about growing trees in small spaces. Impressed that you've managed to graft you own.
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