Every year, I can tell when warmer spring temperatures will soon be arriving.

How?  When delicate flowers begin to appear on my favorite fruit trees.

There is just something about the pink colored flowers that are soon followed by the bright green leaves that makes the days seem warmer.

 

Once I see that fruit trees are covered in blossoms, my attention soon turns to the fruit that will soon follow.

Now, I must confess that I don’t have a peach, apple or plum tree in my garden.  But, my mother has them all growing on her small farm (which is only 5 minutes from my home).

Every summer, we work together to make peach and plum jam.

A few months later, we turn our attention to making applesauce from the apples.  My mother also makes a delicious apple butter.

All winter long, we enjoy the ‘fruits’ of our labor from past summer in the form of delicious jam and fresh-tasting applesauce.  They also make great Christmas gifts.

I actually learned to how to homemade preserves just three years ago.  Now it is an annual event that I look forward to.

Growing fruit trees also means that in addition to making homemade preserves, there is always delicious fruit to enjoy and share with family and friends.

So are you tempted to try growing your own?  If you want to add fruit trees to your garden, now is the time to get ready to start.

Come back on Friday, when I will talk about planting, pruning and caring for fruit trees in my next post.

**If you are interested in making your own preserves, check out this helpful site: National Center for Home Food Preservation, which helped me to learn how to make my own homemade preserves.  Alternatively, your local Cooperative Extension Office may offer classes on how to make homemade preserves.

 

Tagged as: Gardening Projects, Spring, Summer, Trees and Shrubs, Winter