The rain is making me giddy. I just can't stop planting things in the breaks between storms. In addition to various bushes, I've had the opportunity to plant a couple of fruit trees to add to our backyard orchard. To be honest, the backyard orchard is more of a hope than a reality at the moment. But, with all this rain and some careful care, I could be harvesting fruit year-round in a couple of years.

Last weekend, courtesy of Tree People, I got a bare root Panamint Nectarine for free. I planted it on the slope below the chicken coop. At the moment, it looks more like a stick in the ground than a tree. Consider this the "before" shot.



Yesterday, during a trip to Home Depot, I noticed they had some fruit trees for cheap. So, I picked up a Desert Gold Peach and planted it near the Pink Lady Apple that Dakota gave me for my birthday. I managed to get it in the ground before last night's big rain storm. Here's another "before" shot.



In addition to the new trees, I am happy to report that I have revived my almost-dead Brown Turkey Fig. Its previous location was too hot and dry, and the soil was terrible. So, I moved it to a shadier place where I could more easily water it. The move, combined with this winter's rain, brought the fig back to life. Hurrah! I love fresh figs. They remind me of the tree that grew in my great-grandmother's backyard.



Also part of the orchard is this dwarf pomegranate that lives in a container on the patio. It lost all its leaves in December, which freaked me out a bit, but it's back in business now. This was another Tree People freebie, acquired while I was helping them prepare other trees for a giveaway last year. It didn't bear any fruit last year, but perhaps this year we'll get some.



Joining the new trees are two old-timers, which were here when I moved in: an orange and a lemon. The orange sits at the bottom of the stairs down to the patio. After several fruitless years, it managed to produce four small oranges last year, and I'm thinking the upcoming season could be even better. It's covered in blossoms at the moment, which have just started to open. Fingers crossed for lots of bees.



And down below the chicken coop is a lemon tree, which fruits every couple of years. It's got quite a few blossoms as well, so perhaps 2009 will be a productive year.



After listing all those trees, I'm feeling pretty good about my future orchard. I plan to baby all the new saplings through this year, so I can finally get past my history of fruit tree murder. Then, one day soon, all I'll need to do is step out into the backyard to find a delicious and healthy piece of fruit.

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