Garden: Fruit!

Well, some fruit now and the PROMISE of more later.  I am not an edibles gardener. I do not like nurturing plants.  But it is my goal to include in the garden anything and everything that will enrich its sensory appeal.  Our garden is SMALL.  Every part of it needs to work and needs to engage us somehow.  To this end, I've accumulated rather a lot of fruiting plants:

My favorite of all might be the "Issai" hardy kiwi.  This is a smaller vine--smaller than the typical, fuzzy kiwis, anyway.  It is said to grow to about 8-12 feet tall and wide.  It is self-fertile and bears when young.  And it does, too!  I planted this vine less than two years ago (I think), and last year it bore about 8-10 fruits.  This year it bloomed copiously and looks to be loaded with developing fruits.  I am super excited about it!  Last year's fruits were so tasty--really rich and sweet with honeyed, perfume-y taste.  They were, hands down, the best, most flavorful, and tastiest garden fruit I've ever sampled.  

Incipient hardy kiwi fruits.

We also have ripening raspberries.  These are from BrazelBerries "Raspberry Shortcake".   This variety was new in the nurseries last year and quickly came under fire from fellow gardeners for being heavily marketed and rather expensive.  But they really are different from other raspberries, and they are rather special.  Most notably, they are a dwarf variety-- they sucker heavily but do not make canes, making them ideal for pots and for growing in smaller gardens or on patios.   My plant seems to want to be about 2 feet tall and wide.  They are also completely thornless.  The plants are self fertile and the berries have good flavor.  We also have a "Fall Gold" raspberry which is my son's favorite (although I think it does not taste as good as does the BrazelBerry).

BrazelBerries "Raspberry Shortcake".

We have two varieties of grapes:  Himrod and Interlaken.  Their primary use is as screening on the fence between our house and our neighbor's, but fruit is a welcome bonus, right?  Himrod was planted first and, this year, will be allowed to ripen a few bunches of grapes.  Interlaken seems to be a more vigorous vine, but was just planted last year so I have to remove all of the fruit in order to direct the plant's energy into growing a strong framework.  I   just learned from Monty Don (Gardeners' World) that I should remove the fruit for up to six years (!) to strengthen the vine.  That seems excessive, in my opinion.  I want fruit.  Now.  At least a little bit of fruit. My plan has been to shape the plant's trunk during the first year, to select and develop arms during the second year, and then to allow the plant to set a few bunches of fruit the following year.   Every year after that, I'll prune down the previous year's growth to two buds and let the vine produce a bunch of grapes on each new shoot.   That means no fruit for the first two years (and I might be starting with a two-year old plant from the nursery) then very limited fruit set the next year.  So, if I think about it that way, I'd only be allowing moderate fruit set in the fifth year.  Maybe Monty was not so far off the mark after all...

Baby grapes (I hope) on "Himrod".

There's a single, lonely blueberry planted adjacent to the grapes.  I know that berry set would be improved if I had additional bushes, but the other two plants got some sort of blight and I removed them.  I have hesitated to replant in the same area, but may do so next year.  Even with just the one plant, berry-set is abundant.  We only graze on the fruit for the novelty of doing so--generating a big harvest is unnecessary.  The fruit from one bush might be enough for us.

Blueberry--I think it's "Top Hat", a very low, dwarf variety that bears heavily.

Strawberries creep around underneath the shrubs throughout the raised bed.  The berry-set this year has been incredible and I have no idea why.  The berries are a huge favorite with my son and his friends and also with the birds and bugs and whatnot.  We also have the little Fraises des bois (Alpine Strawberries) which are, I think, much tastier.  Those are self seeding rampantly throughout the gravel of the patio area.  Do they come true from seed?  Anyone know?

Too  many berries!

And, last but not least, we have apples on the columnar apple trees--yes, those goofy, over-tall things really do set fruit.  These two (located in the front garden) are "North Pole" variety.  The one in the back garden is "Golden Sentinel".  North Pole has set sparingly during previous years, but is just loaded with fruit this year.  Golden Sentinel fruited abundantly as a new, baby plant last year and has set fruit heavily again this year.  Overall, I get the sense that Golden Sentinel will be a more vigorous grower.  

Apples on the "North Pole" columnar apple.

And that's the wrap on the fruit that's growing in my garden.  Apples, kiwis, strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries--not a bad selection for someone who "doesn't grow edibles".  The columnar apples are a show-stopper (not exactly for the right reason) but we enjoy all of the fruiting plants--observing the blooms, watching the activity of the pollinators, anticipating the fruit as it ripens, and, finally, grazing on ripe, sun-warmed fruit picked right from the plant. Yum.