Lust

That title got your attention, huh?
Well, I'm not talking anything hot, wild and steamy, but the forbidden fruit, people. This blog is G-rated.
Apples. Imagine crunching into that firm red flesh, having the sweet-tart taste of Cortlands or Macouns you've grown yourself explode in your mouth. Plums and cherries so succulent you need a napkin to wipe your chin. Juicy raspberries warm from the sun. Blueberries almost big as your thumb crowning golden
pancakes with rich amber syrup...
Okay, now I'm hungry. Are you salivating yet?
If you're a gardener, you understand this lust, the dream of going out in comfy sweats and picking apples in your own yard to make a pie your mother would envy, putting your own plums into the kids' lunchboxes with the peanut butter and jelly. Or--can you imagine!--having your kids excited to eat that plum because they picked it themselves? In a world of 'I want Cheetohs and Burger King', that's a good one.
You know if you're a gardener, with a little digging and some patience, the dream can be yours. Even if you've never gardened before and have a small yard, you can satisfy the lust for fruit. Self-pollinaters are great for that because you only need one tree. And the blossoms are beautiful and attract honeybees, which need all the encouragement they can get because of the die-off.
Here's the self-pollinating varieties we'll carry this year, grafted onto hardy standard stock and reasonably priced:
North Star Sour Cherry
Santa Rosa Plum
Stanley Prune Plum
Blue Jay Blueberry
Elliot Blueberry
Heritage Raspberry
Darrow Blackberry
And for those of you who desire a small orchard, check out these varieties at Ellis's Greenhouse and Nursery:
Red Delicious
Cortland
MacIntosh
Empire
Liberty
Honey Crisp
Snow Sweet
Yellow Transparent(You could be eating apples in August with this one.)
Macoun
Sunglow Nectarine(Yes! This one will grow in Maine.)
Bartlett Pear
D'Anjou Pear(Mmm. Pear tart...pear crumble...pears in thick syrup on vanilla ice cream.)
"Ack! They all sound so good, what do I choose?" you're wondering.
For just plain good eating, try Red Delicious, Macoun, Honey Crisp or Snow Sweet. I try not to have apple prejudices, but I gotta tell ya, I'm convinced---The apple in the Garden of Eden that seduced Eve? It was Snow Sweet. Talk about lust... One bite, and you'll find it hard to blame her for any of that 'sin' stuff.
If you're thinking of freezing or canning apples for pie, or fresh for pies, Cortland, MacIntosh, Empire or Liberty are tops. For sauce, any combination of all the apples above will do and be the best sauce you've ever tasted. I promise.
So what about those of you who would love to see beautiful blooming shrubs brightening your landscape? I'm one of those people too. What can I say? I garden, therefore I lust. Especially since the snowplow wiped out my bridal wreath spirea...what is it with the winters in Maine? Do we really need all that snow?
Here's what we have so far for shrub fanciers:
Hydrangeas
Purple and white Lilacs
PJM Rhododendrons
Bridal Wreath Spirea
Van Houttei Spirea, White
I'll keep you updated if more are added, and check back here for links to show you just how easy it is to grow your own fruit trees and shrubs you'll enjoy for years to come.
Mary:)