PLUM TREES

We have 9 varieties of plums and this year we are going to get cherry plum varieties. Why?

”Altogether 1420 in the Shire was a marvellous year. Not only was there wonderful sunshine and delicious rain, in due times and perfect measure, but there seemed something more: an air of richness and growth … The fruit was so plentiful that young hobbits very nearly bathed in strawberries and cream; and later they sat on the lawns under the plum-trees and ate, until they had made piles of stones like small pyramids or the heaped skulls of a conqueror, and then they moved on.” (The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien)

That’s why.

CHERRY TREES

In our logo the Tallbacka Teddy bites into a cherry and this was not chosen for just aesthetic reasons. There is something wild, beautiful and fascinating about a cherry. We have four varieties of sour cherry and so far only one of sweet cherry. This summer we are looking for a companion for Arthur, probably Leningrad black. They all grow beside the old gardens diagonal path. When I planted them I had in mind an arched canopy of cherry blossom. We have realised that the trees came a little too close to the path itself and that it’s not worth sowing vegetables by their roots. I’ll be wiser next summer by leaving a large enough circle of flowers around the tree trunk. I think they will be Nasturtiums.

Apples and Pears

An interesting historical detail is that Councillor Erik Flemming was the early adopter of cultivated apples at Qvidja in Pargas. He planted his apple orchard in 1539 with both apple and pear varieties from Reval (Tallinn). When we started landscaping the garden in 2016, we also acquired new apple and pear trees.

On the one hand, we needed to supplement the old apple orchard with new trees instead of the old ones we removed, but at the same time we also needed to follow up the idea of a diversity of plants in the garden. The varieties we kept in the apple orchard were partly familiar such as Yellow Cinnamon, Antonovka, Åkerö and Astrakan Gyllenkrok. They were complemented with Transparente Blanche, Tobias, Red Cinnamon and Konsta. Outside the apple orchard we planted a row of pear trees in the old garden. The varieties were Aune, Jukka, Lada, Doctor’s pear, Lutsu and Kustavin päärynä.

Later, we have supplemented the varieties of apple with Amorosa, Grenman, Heta, Huvitus, Linda, Rubinola and Summer Red. One concern is that we were not sufficiently observant when it came to the rootstocks on which the different varieties are grafted. Now we know that in our garden we want to avoid dwarf varieties that require support throughout the life of the apple.

New varieties of both apples and pears are added all the time and we keep our eyes open for new and exciting varieties.