Yesterday I was summer pruning the fruit trees up at the top of the garden, hopefully forming fruiting spurs ready for next year. All the little trees are of the Minarette variety, a long slender trunk which is then has its side shoots clipped tightly to the fence behind, this way we have a little orchard which takes up very little room.
Victoria plums.
The first fruit I noticed after cutting away loads of foliage, were the Victoria plums, hanging there like a huge bunch of grapes made out of jade.
Victoria plum.
They should ripen now that so much foliage has been cut away, I just hope that birds and wasps don’t find them!
Damsons.
The Damsons are doing really well this year. Having been disappointed last year with hardly any fruit, this year I did get out my paint brush and go from flower to flower, buzzing as I went! Damsons flower so early in the year, it is usually quite cold at the time, too cold for bees to be about pollinating everything, yes, I can say pollinating them myself certainly worked!
Pears.
They say that you plant pears for your heirs, well last year we had 2 whole pears and this year our little Conference and Concorde trees have produced 9 between them!
Apple tree.
Our little Crowngold apple tree has managed about a dozen apples, this is an eating variety.
Bramley Apple.
But the big old Bramley apple tree which was here before us and grows unrestricted and unpruned as it is so huge, is absolutely covered with apples! Last year there were hardly any but this year it is making up for it.
Brimstone butterfly.
While wandering round the garden, I saw a Brimstone butterfly flutter by. It eventually came to rest in the rose garden. For those not in the UK, it is a yellow/green butterfly and is very well camouflaged when at rest with its wings folded, can you see it?
Brimstone butterfly.
A bit closer, actually I was about 3 inches away from it. The spots on the wings match the blackspot on the rose leaves! Here it is hanging upside down on a rose leaf and I think it is so well camouflaged, no passing bird would see it. It really does look like a leaf when hanging perfectly still, nature certainly is wonderful!
The last week has just been spent cutting back, deadheading and weeding, the weather has been sunny with showers and quite warm most of the time, ideal weather for weeds to grow! Plans have been made and notes been taken where colour is lacking in the borders so that they can be improved by next year. This year is racing away, I just don’t know where the time has gone.
This is a wonderful year for fruit and it certainly looks as if you have a bumper crop Pauline. I have only ever seen Brimstones in Spring here. There are so many wonderful butterflies about at the moment, they are one of the joys of the August garden. Yesterday I saw a Speckled Wood in the garden for the first time.
Butterflies have started visiting here Chloris, but so far, not very many. We tend to get quite a few Speckled Woods, mainly the males competing for a space in the sunshine in the woodland where they dance over and over each other, silly really, they must use up so much energy!
I’m a bit envious of your fruit Pauline; this isn’t a good year here, much too hot! Even the pomegranates are tiny but split already, at least the birds should enjoy them. I really didn’t see the butterfly when I first looked, nature is, as you say, amazing. Well done for spotting it.
What a shame you won’t benefit from your pomegranates Christina, but lucky birds!
If I hadn’t seen the Brimstone flying by and watched where it landed, I would never have seen it on the rose bush, it looked just like a leaf.
Good to read you hand pollinating worked Pauline and was certainly worth the effort. You’ve a good harvest this year.
It took me a few seconds to see the Brimstone. I’ve seen not one single butterfly here this year. Bees are a rare sight too.
Hand pollinating the Damsons certainly worked Angie, the rest of the fruit was ok because it was quite a warm spell when they were flowering and I was able to let the bees do it all by themselves.
You have been so unlucky with the weather this summer, not really a summer for you at all with all the rain you have had. I’m sure the butterflies are waiting for some nice warm weather and then they will all disappear north!
It’s hard to believe that it’s August already. Your fruit trees are looking quite nice. What an interesting butterfly, perfectly camouflaged.
Yes Peter, time is just flying by, there’s not enough time to fit in all the jobs that need doing. I am so pleased that my little fruit trees are now getting into the right frame of mind to produce fruit for us, it has taken them quite some time! I would never have spotted the butterfly if I hadn’t seen where it landed, I was lucky it stayed in the same spot for quite a while so that I could take a photo, expecting it to fly away all the time.
It’s great seeing all your fruit and I am in awe of your self pollinating skills, those damsons look delicious! They have to be my favourite fruit.xxx
We’re looking forward to eating it Dina! Pollinating with a paint brush is very easy, but I kept forgetting which flowers I had done,there were so many!
Well done on with the Damsons (apparently that is how much of mainland China’s fruit is pollinated as there are so few bees left….whether that is true or not…)
Your fruit crop looks wonderfully abundant…do you net your trees? Between the large birds and possums here I consider myself lucky to get one apple each year 🙂
I hope it never comes to pollinating our own food crops Matt, one tree was bad enough!
Our smaller soft fruit bushes (black current, red current, gooseberry) get netted or we wouldn’t get any of those at all! The Bramley apple is far too big to net, we are quite happy to share all the apples with the wildlife, the other small trees will maybe get netted if I find the fruit vanishing!
Lovely fruits Pauline. Very unusual butterfly. Such fun to enjoy butterflies this summer. We’ve had more than usual.
We’re looking forward to enjoying the food Susie.
Suddenly there are butterflies everywhere, they are so colourful and I love to see them fluttering round the garden.