Waiting for the Fruits of My Labor

I mentioned in an earlier post that we were renovating our neglected compost area into a suitable spot for a plum tree. I’ve been trying to take advantage of the spotty breaks in weather to finish that task up. Our trip to the coast last week used a whole day of warm sunshine, but it was worth it.

This picture is midway in the removal process. It was too ugly to photograph before we started on it. Those blackberry canes behind and intertwined in the chain link fence were so thick. Some were more than 1″ in diameter!

I actually have mostly finished the compost area. I (with the help of my husband and oldest daughter) have removed all the pallets that formed the compost bins, all of the compost that was on top of the pallets, the enormous blackberry canes that were behind the compost bin and also the blackberries that were hanging over the bin and clinging to the chain link fence on both sides of it and removed a whole lot of branches from a flowering quince bush (not the fruiting kind) that is in our neighbor’s yard and was overhanging wildly into our space.

This is a huge pile of the quince and blackberry vines that we trimmed.

There is still several square feet of area that is covered with black plastic and compost that was under the bin that I have yet to remove. I just pulled it back enough to plant my Greengage plum tree.

The tree looks so tiny, but it’s in the ground and I’m so excited!

In another corner of the yard, in a spot that was once completely shaded by a very large cedar tree (which blew down in Dec. 2006) I have planted a Brooks prune.

The Brooks prune is bigger than the Greengage, but still small. That’s our old dog Pepper in the background. Please excuse the messy surrounding yard. It still needs lots of work.

I think I can get one more fruit tree in the space that we have available this year, but haven’t fully committed to that idea yet. I better decide soon!