May is for - darling buds

I'm writing this late due to having a well-deserved holiday at the end of May, and that makes it all the stranger. We're 3 weeks into Winter, and we're yet to have a frost. Traditionally our first frost here is around ANZAC day, and yet here we are at the Winter Solstice, and I haven't even had to use my woollen driving gloves on the way to work yet. Tonight is the longest night of the year, and from here the days will grow longer again. I'm not complaining personally, I hate to be cold and I wouldn't mind if we never get below 2 degrees again. But what seems like a small convenience to me makes a huge difference in the garden.

My apple finally finished flowering (strange enough), but both are still tightly holding their deep green leaves. I can't wait for them to be bare so I can give them a prune and tidy-up. The apricot at least has the good grace to turn a few leaves yellow to convince me that it's not still March.

The tomatoes and chillies are still flowering... and even ripening.

 

Out along the highway, the wattles have begun their end of winter celebration. The 'darling buds of May' that usually refer to a Northern Hemisphere Spring? Perhaps...

I do find it slightly concerning, and I know many fruit trees will not flower properly without enduring enough 'chill hours' to convince them winter has come and gone. When the flowering is erratic, there aren't enough flowers open at once to adequately pollinate each other, and fruit set is low.

My fingers are crossed that the worst impact will be higher fruit prices next season.

Photo of the week - Spring has sprung?

 

The weather this year has been so strange, with a mild yet dry Summer, finished off dramatically by truckloads of rain. Understandably, some of my plants are a bit confused. This is my lovely Pink Lady apple tree, which seems to have been tricked into flowering in Autumn instead of Spring. I won't ever complain about having too many flowers, but I'm slightly concerned that it won't flower in Spring now after using its flower buds, and maybe I won't get many (or even any) apples. Most fruit trees begin to form flower buds many months ahead of time, and may not do this again until next growing season. Add to this the fact that I need 2 apple trees to pollinate each other, and we find that if this tree doesn't flower again, my Granny Smith apple won't have any fruit either! Thankfully we have a Spring every year, and hopefully the weather will be more stable next time around. In the meantime I'll make sure I appreciate the flowers for what they are, not just what they could have been!