Bliss Falls Farm

former horse paddock…future orchard

Chickens…..check,  Garden….check,   Orchard…..CHECK!

Months ago we began dreaming of a beautiful orchard where you could walk underneath boughs of apple trees enjoying their shade and nibbling on their fruit fresh of the branch.

Plum tree

Not knowing what varieties would work in our zone and not wanting to make costly mistakes in the selection of our trees, we turned to expert horticulturist Jeff Minnich (Minnich Garden Design) to advise and install our orchard. I told Jeff we wanted a lot of variety and showed him the space we were planning to use, about a 1/2 acre former equine paddock that was in the shape of a long skinny rectangle. He came back with recommendations that just delighted me! Here is what we planted today:

2          All-in-One Almond—Prunus x ‘All-in-One’

4          Apples (varieties to be determined)

1          Chinese Apricot—Prunus armeniaca

1          Tilton Apricot—Prunus armeniaca ‘Tilton’

1          Bing Cherry—Prunus avium ‘Bing’

1          Ranier CherryPrunus avium ‘Ranier’

2          Brown Turkey Fig—Ficus carica ‘Brown Turkey’

2          Nectarine—Prunus persica var. nusipersica

1          Indian Blood Peach—Prunus persica ‘Indian Blood’

1          White Lady Peach—Prunus persica ‘White Lady’

2          Keiffer Pear—Pyrus communis x pyrifolia ‘Kieffer’

1          Methley Plum—Prunus salicina ‘Methley’

The single almond on our almond tree

Admiring the orchard