the work in progress...............

[rattler]

we have been in our house for a year now.......last year we had to fix stuff inside and did minimal outside...........this year we are focusing on the outside............here is my work in progress.....

the only part thats done..........a section about 4 foot by 20 foot.....there is a dwarf pine at the end.....a lilac bush that was here when we bought the place and 3 roses on the end closest to me......covered in river rock so there is no weeding :grin:

front yard...............the tree is going to go cause i hate chinese elms......unfortunately the wife discovered today that a pair of mourning doves have a nest so until the youngins fledge it cant come down. the green you see isnt lawn............its weeds......grass seed will go down in the fall the war on the weeds will continue through the summer

front garden, its entirely perennials and pretty well done....gotta wait to see what fills in and what survives next winter before adding more plants

bleeding heart from the front garden....only thing blooming at the moment as the tulips are pretty well done

along the side of the garage............work in progress

the back yard.......we are figuring this will be a 3 to 5 year project....this tree is coming down and a pond and bog will be there....havent broken the news to the Possum Killer yet....thats her climbing tree....

more of the back yard......between the supports for the clothes line will be hardy kiwi's

here are the apple trees......believe it or not one actually has blooms even though we just planted them a few weeks back......the hill side will be terraced going up and veggie gardens will be there....

 

[herenorthere]

Very good start. Don't let the apples grow any fruit for a couple years, by the way. They need to focus on growing. What varieties are they and what size will the be?

 

[rattler]

Firecracker, Kerr and Honeycrisp...............firecracker is a red fleshed crab apple, they look like a small Red Delicious but the flesh is red instead of the normal white. Kerr is a cross between Dolgo and Haralson so its a cross beween a regular apple and a crab. Honeycrisp is a regular eating apple but its on the small side and is very cold hardy so it should live through our winters and have plenty of time to ripen in our short growing season. Kerr and Firecracker are more for baking though they can be eaten fresh, they just arent the sweetest.....Honeycrisp is a regular eating apple that stores well.............

our cold winters and short growing season kinda limits what will do well. these 3 would give us an interesting variety, have really good cold hardiness and short enough ripening time to do well. we more than likely wont have apples every year cause late frosts will sometimes kill of the blossoms but whats a guy to do?

 

[rattler]

also planted this year were hardy kiwi's Natasha, Tatyana and a unnamed male, a contorted and weeping mulberry, an amur grape(wild type grape, very tart berries, mainly growing it to cover the chain link fence in the front but its berries are supposed to work well for juice) along with a concord grape. two blueberry bushes will go in the ground tomorrow. also some unnamed raspberries and a gooseberry. some current and nanking cherry seedlings taken from my inlaws yard. also have 2 honey berries coming................figure if i gotta take care of the dang bushes and trees and the like i should get something out of them :grin:

 

[herenorthere]

You might also want to get an Evans (or Bali) cherry. It's supposed to get fruit that's halfway between a sweet and a tart cherry and the variety originated from a tree that was found growing up around Edmonton. So it's cold hardy, but people are growing them all the way down to the mid-south. They don't even have to be grafted, which is another advantage in a harsh climate. A good source for cold-tolerant fruiting plants is St. Lawrence Nursery: http://www.sln.potsdam.ny.us/ and I think that's the only place that uses the name Bali for the Evans cherry.

 

[rattler]

many thanks Bruce. been getting most of my stuff from One Green World.......been interesting trying to find a decent variety of cold hardy fruits. One Green Worlds has a large variety and good quality plants.

 

[Clint]

I always liked figs if they will grow up there for you. And I want to try Pawpaw.

 

[rattler]

lil to cold for either here though a pawpaw might and thats a BIG might be possible