Sometimes, in the more contemplative moments of life, it's not unusual to look back and think what one could have done differently. Although, as a parent, I realise there is much I could have done differently (loved more, laughed more, to name just two) this is not that. Rather, it's a look at what I/we would have done differently had we only know back then what we know now.
Take this Wandin Glory. It's an Australian variety of a weeping apple and I absolutely love it. We planted it almost twelve months ago when the flowering cherry we planted when we first moved into our house in 1996 decided to up and die. While the weeping flowering cherry delighted us with its blossom every spring and developed an interesting shape reminiscent of ancient forests, it supplied nothing for the table.
Which brings me to what we would now do differently if we were to start our entire garden from scratch.
We would plant more fruit trees. Plant them in the flower garden. Espalier them along the fence. Squeeze them in to a corner. Wherever they would and should grow, plant them. Even though we have always grown some fruit trees, in more recent years we have increased that number so that we now have thirty trees, bushes, or vines capable of producing fruit. But there are still long stretches of garden with not a single fruit tree in sight.
We could remedy that - perhaps. But it would now be a major overhaul, and light and shade are not what they were thirty years ago when we first adopted this garden. The neighbours' trees have grown so tall. Some of our more established trees that we're not willing to part with now block sunlight. There are some pockets of soil that would not support fruit trees.
But why fruit trees?
It's not just because I love their blossom - although that is certainly a consideration. No, it's because over time, I've learnt that they look equally at home in the orchard as in the flower garden. In fact, I wonder now why they have often been relegated to the less viewed areas of the garden and why it took me so long to learn/realise they don't have to be planted in a grassy paddock far from the house. On top of that, they produce yummy fruit which is often insecticide- and other chemical-free (depending on your horticulture practices).
At this time of year, with everything bursting into blossom or sprouting new growth it really is a joy to walk around the garden, sit under the pergola and sip tea, even pull a weed or two, knowing that there is going to be some fruit coming with minimal input from us.
For years DH and I have had a dream to own more land and plant even more fruit trees. But as we've grown a little older, we're beginning to recognise the bonus of living in town and close to amenities. We have a one-level home that we love, on a flat section of land, and despite those thirty fruit trees, there is still plenty of space for the grandchildren to play.
I just wish we'd not got caught up into planting easy-care shrubs and natives thirty years ago (who needs easy-care when half of the fun of gardening is getting out there and getting your hands dirty) and had planted more fruit trees and vegetables right from the start. Having said that, we possibly didn't have the time for more vegetables back then when our children were [much] younger.
One lady who has found the time and on a not so large plot of land is the one behind this inspirational story. I'm not sure we could ever attain what she has managed to achieve (DH still wants lawn for the grandchildren to play on) but it's proof that even a small patch of earth can produce abundantly.
Meanwhile, here are a few quotes that are particularly apt at this time of year.
Many things grow in the garden that were never sown there. Thomas Fuller, 1608-1661, English preacher, historian, and author. [Yep, definitely true in my garden.]
Only fools view their gardens in monetary terms ... The real point of a garden is to increase the value of our lives. Anna Pavord, British garden writer. [A timely reminder when we've just gone out and bought a new heating mat, or more bamboo stakes, or straw mulch, or fertiliser, or seedlings to replace the ones we forgot to water even though we had nurtured them from the very beginning.]
Each moment of the year has its own beauty, a picture which was never seen before, and which shall never be seen again. Ralph Waldo Emerson, American philosopher, essayist, lecturer, and poet, 1803-1882. [This!]
A seed hidden in the heart of an apple is an orchard invisible. Welsh proverb. [As proved by The Most Adorable Granddaughters#1, #2 and #3 who all grew apple trees from the seed of the same variety of apple yet with incredible diversity in the results.]
Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant. Robert Louis Stevenson, 1850-1894, Scottish novelist and poet. [Or the bulbs. Or the cuttings.]
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now. Chinese proverb. [To do differently.]
The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies. Gertrude Jekyll. [We might be latecomers to gardening but falling in love more and more all the time.]
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