Saturday, September 29, 2012

front yard update!

It's starting to look a bit like a real garden! You can vaguely see the Harcourt apple tree near the back, the asparagus along the left-hand side, and the lavender in front. The little blobs of plant matter are the buckwheat cover crop. And in the front corner we planted the tree you see poking into the right side of the picture - a Westcot apricot! Born and bred for Zone 3, all it needs is lots of sun and a decently sheltered place to live. Apparently anywhere in the city is pretty much considered "sheltered." It also requires a nanking cherry bush within close proximity in order to be a fully productive apricot, so that'll be happening in spring (unless you know of someone wanting to get rid of one...?) To be honest, I haven't done much research on the best time of year to plant tress, but my apricot came with a 5 year warrantee so I figured at 50% off, I couldn't really go wrong. :) 


So that's it! I think that's all I'm putting in for trees/bushes. I'll be adding a few perennial flowers to attract pollinators, some herbs, and some nitrogen-fixing plants (I was thinking of growing sweet peas next to the trunks of my trees...) to help my little lovelies get established. And probably a living mulch to keep in moisture and provide organic matter when I chop it down. Better do some more reading this winter as to the best of each to plant, because I'm running out of room!

2 comments:

Edmonton Drost's said...

yay looks awesome! my dad makes apricot wine. Its good!

Anonymous said...

Christie, This is quite amazing! Let us know if you'd like more goat manure. Robin