My Crab Apple

Tags

crab apple tree, crab apples

It has been quite a while since I posted about my dear crab apple tree. Summer is always a quiet time for it, anyway. Once the blossom fades in May it blends into the background providing some shade for the end of the garden and a dark green backdrop for other plants to shine.

It looked as good as ever this spring, covered in blossom and, with the introduction of an espalier eating apple into the garden, I was hopeful it would be a pollinator for it. But, whilst my new apple was happpily pollianted and produced our first tasty home-grown fruit, my crab apple has not faired so well. In June, July and August we had so much rain, day after day, that I rarely venutred out into the garden. If I did, it was for a hurried trip to the compost bin and to the shed to drop off some recycling. Then, one day it stopped raining and I finally got a chance to potter and whilst doing a spot of weeding I had a look at the crab. Oh, it didn’t look well. My first thought was not another tree to have to get cut down. We’re not doing well with trees so far, an ornamental cherry lost to canker, an acer lost to something undiagnosed, a silver birch that was just too big. I was beginning to wonder if I had some unwanted propensity for killing trees.

The leaves looked sickly, and I could barely see any fruit. I did wonder if it was the weather. The tree looks a little better now for some sun, but I can only describe it as looking a bit mangy; it’s had a hard year.

It should be dripping in fruit and they should be ripening nicely now but the weather has put paid to that. When it came into blossom at the end of April we suffered a cold snap. Late frosts and heavy rain meant there were no insects about to pollinate. This will certainly explain the lack of fruits and is a worrying example of what will happen in the future if we don’t protect our pollinating insects, such as honey bees. Those fruits that have appeared are much smaller than normal and scabby and I can only imagine this has been caused by the miserable summer.

For me, it means fewer lovely red apples to gaze at whilst I do the washing up this autumn and winter, but more importantly, the blackbirds and starlings that strip the tree of fruit from December into March, will be short of food this winter. I fear it will be a hard year for the birds and small mammals dependent on trees and hedgerows for their food. Hips, haws and berries are all scarce, certainly here, this autumn.

So, whilst the tree doesn’t look at its best and I’ll have to buy more bird food to make sure they don’t go hungry this winter, it is a relief that it just seems to be the weather that has caused my crab apple to look so bad this year, I don’t think I could face another visit from a tree surgeon.

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My Crab Apple Tree

Tags

blossom, crab apple tree, nectar and pollen source, westonbirt arboretum

I wrote a post last year, after a visit to Westonbirt Arboretum, about my love of trees and the fact that I was known to occasionally hug a tree, a lovely experience which I can definitely recommend. I then received a post from Flighty at Flight Plot pointing me in the direction of a blog celebrating 2011’s Tree Year. The blog asked people to choose a tree they saw on a regular basis and follow how it changed through the seasons, posting about it. I thought it was such a great idea that I chose the crab apple at the end of my garden, my only disappointment was that I had come to the idea so late in the year.

A couple of people suggested I continue posting into 2012 about my tree and reading Laura’s post over at the Patiopatch about the Wych Elms she is following, I thought it was about time I devoted a post to my beautiful tree.

My Crab Apple Tree

For me, my crab apple is at it’s most stunning right now. Like a huge candy floss it stands in the left hand corner of my back garden covered in blossom. Although once open the flowers are white, the buds are rose pink and I think one of my most favourite things in nature. For weeks now I have been anticipating the show of blossom. There was the morning when I was stood at the kitchen sink and squinting could see the first signs of the pink buds emerging, finally culminating in the first white flowers opening with perfect timing for the Easter weekend. These white flowers hold a secret, they smell. I never really thought of blossom as having a scent. It was only really the first spring living in this house that I came across this delightful surprise. OK it’s not a powerful, heady scent like sweet peas, or stocks but it is for me the most perfect of spring scents, smelling like freshly washed clothes that have been blowing on the washing line. Ones that haven’t been drowned in the overpowering fragrances used by detergent companies that is. My crab apple certainly doesn’t smell of Japanese Fragrant Lily or Himalayan Lemongrass Orchid or any other bizarre sounding clothes wash.

A bee seeking out nectar

The tree is proving popular with the insect visitors to the garden, too. Stand next to the tree at the moment and there is a hum, a buzz, a noise of busily foraging bees lapping up the nectar and groaning under the weight of laden pollen sacs. I always get a sense of satisfaction to know that even my small garden can play an important part in the environment.

The crab apple is quite a hardy customer. It might look all delicate and frothy at the moment but it has had to put up quite a bit over the last week with plunging temperatures, freaky hail storms, torrential rain and howling winds. I went to bed last night thinking the predicted heavy rain and gales would strip the tree of it’s flowers but no, there is a little bit of white confetti appearing on the path but the tree looks great still.

Tightly packed pink blossom buds

The birds which have used the tree all winter, whether feeding on the crab apples or grubs and insects hidden in the branches or visiting the feeders we have put there, are still using the tree. Blackbirds, in particular, use the tree as a perch before flying down to the nearby bird bath.

It’s time for me to savour the tree and it’s blossom as much as possible. Another couple of weeks and the blossom will have faded with bright apple green leaves unfurling and taking over.

This crab apple was already here when we moved into the house, we’re not sure what variety it is, possibly ‘Evereste’ because it holds onto it’s apples for such a long period and although we have completely changed the rest of the garden it is such an important feature. If I could recommend one tree for even the smallest of gardens it would be a crab apple. They provide such interest through the year.

Buds and Mummified Fruit

Tags

buds opening, crab apple tree, grape hyacinths, pinching out sweet peas, seed sowing

After a week of mild weather the garden feels like it has really shaken off the last vestiges of winter. The snowdrops are no more but have been replaced by the golden glow of daffodils and clumps of primroses. Hellebores are still going strong and they have been joined by pulmonarias and grape hyacinths. But the sight that fills me with most joy is the tiny buds on my crab apple that are starting to unfurl. On Saturday I was doing the washing up and looking out of my kitchen window when I thought the branches looked different, squinting through the glass it looked like little specks of green were appearing. Abandoning my dishes and pans to investigate further I was greeted by this sight.

Crab apple buds

At the start of last week I had the not so pleasant job of removing the mummified fruit that were left on the tree. Last year had been a particularly good year for fruit and the tree had provided blackbirds, starlings, thrushes and redstarts with some vital food through the winter but there are always fruit that they don’t get to.

It’s not essential with a crab apple to remove the mummified fruit, I do it for aesthetic reasons. Not wanting the old wizened fruit to detract from the blossom that will start to appear over the next month. However, with a tree that provides eating apples it is important to remove any old fruit remaining on the tree as these can harbour diseases. I couldn’t get to all of the old fruit, especially those on branches over-hanging the neighbour’s garden but it still looked better for a bit of a tidy up. The smell from the apples was a quite potent, fermenting apple juice aroma. The excitement of what is to come over the next month as tight pink flower buds appear and then unfold to produce whitish pink blossom is building.

Clematis flower buds

Not only this but I discovered the soft, almost furry, flower buds on an early flowering Clematis. My honeysuckle is now covered in leaves and roses are springing into life. In fact, everywhere I look are signs of plants emerging, it’s like being reunited with old friends. I wander around the garden stopping and puzzling over plants appearing. I redesigned a couple of borders in my garden last autumn and I can’t remember where I put certain plants. I was also very kindly given some plants by gentleman from the allotments which I planted up but I couldn’t remember what I’d done with them. I’m really looking forward to seeing how my redesign will work.

Grape hyacinth (Muscari)

The garden isn’t the only place with signs of new life. My cold frame and kitchen window sill have trays and pots of seeds pushing through. I have broad beans waiting to go up to the allotment, sweet peas that I have pinched out the growing tips to make bushier plants and edible peas which are just germinating. There are celeriac seedlings that need pricking out and only a week after sowing I have my first hardy annuals for my cut flower patch. I have a ritual every morning of opening the blind in the kitchen and then checking my seeds. Even though I know it’s not possible for seeds to germinate overnight I will check them the day after sowing. It generally takes between 7 to 14 days for seeds to germinate so I was really surprised to find seeds sown last Tuesday had germinated by Saturday and that I could see my first echium and scabious plants.

Cold Frame

There’s plenty to do, with the busiest time for gardeners upon us. So on that note I’m off to sow some more sweet peas and having read other blogs it sounds like I should introduce some leek seeds to some compost. Happy seed sowing!!!

The Year of the Tree – My Crab Apple in December

Tags

blossom, crab apple tree, crab apples, winter

Winter Crab Apple

To celebrate the Year of the Tree I have been posting about my crab apple, following it changing through the seasons, November Post and October Post. Well, as it’s December I thought I’d post about my crab apple in winter.

The stormy weather of the last couple of weeks has removed the leaves but the tree is anything but bare. It is still covered in glorious red crab apples, which provide some welcome colour on dull, dreary December days. Some branches are so laden they are bent over under the weight of the fruit.

Some apples have fallen to the ground, making a carpet under the tree, others lie squished on the path. I noticed the other day whilst filling the bird feeder a strong smell of fermenting apples in the air.

Blackbirds and starlings are flocking to the tree now the weather is getting colder, perching in the branches and pecking at the crab apples. It’s good to know that whilst I can appreciate the beauty of the tree it is also providing a vital source of food for these birds.

Blackbird in my Crab Apple Tree last winter

Underneath the tree I have a Brunnera that is in flower, a sign of the strangely mild autumn. We’ve had two light frosts but these haven’t been enough to kill off the beautiful forget-me-not like flowers.

Bird splattered Brunnera flowering in December

If I look closely enough on the branches I can see next years flower buds and leaf buds protected from the harsh winter weather we may get by the bud scales. It’s a nice thought to know that these little buds will open into beautiful blossom and green leaves next spring and the cycle will start once more.

The Year of the Tree – My Crab Apple in November

Tags

bird feeders, blackbirds, crab apple tree, goldfinches, robin., The Year of the Tree, wren

Last month I wrote a post about the blog The Tree Year, which encourages people across the world to blog about a tree that is important to them.  I chose to write about my crab apple tree. When I blogged in October about my tree the weather was beautiful and we were basking in an Indian summer. Today is completely different. It really feels like winter is only round the corner. The change in weather means our tree is now a home for bird feeders. We have one feeder filled with a sunflower seed mix and another filled with Nyjer seeds which are particularly tasty to goldfinches.

My Crab Apple Tree in November

I love the tree at this time of year. It becomes this great meeting point for so many birds. Starlings, sparrows, blue tits and great tits, chaffinches and robins. I spotted the first goldfinches of the year yesterday. Occasionally I will catch a glimpse of a wren flitting through the branches. Blackbirds love the tree, mainly because of the crab apples, they don’t seem bothered by the apples’ tartness. The harsh winters of the the last 3 years have meant I have been treated to some unusual visitors to the tree. Bramblings, fieldfares, redstarts, blackcaps and long-tailed tits have all kept me interested whilst I stare out over a snow-covered garden from my seat in the kitchen, clutching my warm cup of tea. I’ll venture outside in the hope I can get close enough to take some good photos but invariably the birds are spooked and fly off. Sometimes I’ll hole up in the shed doorway hoping the birds won’t notice me and will come to the feeders. Sometimes they do but generally I get cold and so I return indoors to watch them through the binoculars. I haven’t got the patience to be a wildlife photographer.

Blue Tit in Crab Apple Tree

The leaves are now starting to change colour and some are starting to fall from the tree but the apples, glowing red, will remain on the tree well into January.

Sparrows coming in for a feed

We had to have a birch tree removed from our garden last year and 2 trees in neighbours’ gardens have been removed this year, so I really appreciate my crab apple, the height and shape it creates, the perch and feeding point for a myriad of birds and the interest it provides in my garden throughout the seasons.

The Year of the Tree – My Crab Apple

Tags

apples, bees, blossom, crab apple tree, RSPB, Westonbirt

I recently posted about my visit to the arboretum at Westonbirt in Gloucestershire and my love for trees so Flighty at flightplot kindly sent me a link to www.thetreeyear.wordpress.com. It is a blog to celebrate trees in this, 2011 The Year of the Tree, allowing people all over the world to blog about a tree or trees that are close to their heart. The idea is to pick a tree/s and study that tree throughout the year. To record how the tree changes through the seasons, what wildlife uses the tree, what plants grow around the tree, in fact anything that tells the story of a year in the life of that particular tree.

What an amazing idea. I love it. Anything that makes us take a closer look, to appreciate our natural environment is so worthwhile. Unfortunately, I have come to all this a little late in the year but I still wanted to contribute so I want to introduce you to my crab apple tree.

I don’t know what variety it is. The tree was already here when we bought the house. It is such a beautiful tree that gives me a lot of pleasure.

In Spring it is smothered in whitish-pink blossom that has a beautiful fresh scent. I will always stop to have a sniff – a smell that embodies Spring. As the blossom fades fresh green leaves unfurl. These zingy fresh leaves provide a perfect background to the Spring flowers bursting into life. Then, as Spring merges into Summer the tree has a quiet spell allowing other plants to steal the attention. Occasionally I will notice that little green fruits are beginning to swell, a taster of what is to come. As daylength shortens and temperatures start to drop, the fruit now the size of a small sweets, become streaked with red. Then, by the middle of autumn, the whole tree is covered in glowing red balls of tiny apples. This is how the tree looks now.

I’m not the only one to appreciate this tree. The birds love its myriad of branches, providing them with somewhere to perch, safely hidden from predators. The RSPB recommends crab apples not just because they provide valuable food for birds in winter but also because they are home to over 90 varieties of insects. Bees love the tree as well when it is in blossom, gorging on the nectar.

That’s all for now but I will post again between now and the end of the year with other stories and photos from my crab apple. Take a look at thetreeyear for more tree tales.