The Danger of Planting Fruit Trees

It’s that time of year. Can you feel it?  We have had a few months of cold and are looking forward to spring gardens and sunshine. Evenings are spent browsing seed catalogs and flipping through the pages of Stark Bro’s while dreaming of apple orchards. But, in our family, planting fruit trees is risky business.

Fruitful aspirations

We have always kept a garden and a small farm, but have never had a fruit orchard. I have this vision in my head of “The White Way of Delight” from Anne of Green Gables. I would love to gaze out my window and see neat rows of blooming trees filled with buzzing bees. We’ve been fortunate to have had a few existing fruit trees at all of our homes, but never a full orchard. So at each little home place, we’ve chosen a spot to plant trees. We typically choose a few varieties of peaches, apples, pears, plums and sometimes a few berries and grapes. We eagerly prepare the ground and plant our trees, with dreams of baskets filled with fruit. But we never see it. 

To plant or not to plant

Over the last 10 years we have moved four times. For the most part, our relocations have been work relocated. Or have they? It seems like every time we plant a fruit tree, we end up moving two years later. It’s become a running joke in our family. “Oh, Dad is looking at fruit trees. He’s getting the itch!” or “Well, the trees are in the ground..where do you think we’ll go next?” It’s funny, but true.

It almost makes us hesitant to plant, but not quite. We don’t know what the future holds. We might stay here for the rest of our lives, or we could move next week. However, that doesn’t stop us from trying to create our dream home, wherever we are. So, we’ll plant our fruit trees and see what happens. Maybe we’ll enjoy the harvest, or maybe we’re planting them for someone else. Either way, as long as we’re here, we will bloom where we’re planted.  Although, sometimes I feel more like a potted plant!

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