Many years ago when we moved into our home in Maltby, we had a vision for an orchard. We thoughtfully discussed the types of fruit trees we'd like to have, and spent many Saturdays visiting Molbak's and Flower World, looking for the dwarf trees that we thought would do well on our property. One of our best choices was the semi-dwarf Liberty apple tree.
The Liberty apples were developed to be disease-resistant, and they have thrived in our pasture's environment. Year after year, they produce the most beautiful blush-colored apples that I use to make applesauce and apple pies. This year, even with our late-arriving summer and very cool spring, these apples have thrived.
Apples conjure up memories of my childhood, having been raised on a city-acre that my parents fully developed for gardening and harvesting of fruit. We had two cherry trees, a crabapple tree, three apple trees, and an Italian plum tree. I can remember climbing up into the mature apple tree, getting comfortable sitting between two large branches, and eating as many apples as I could.
The Liberty apples will be ready to pick in the next few weeks, and I'm looking forward to using them to make my Maltby Apple Pie and applesauce. But before I cut them up, I'll put several of them in a cut-glass bowl on my farm table and admire their perfect shape and their rosy hue. They are almost too beautiful to eat!
No comments:
Post a Comment