Nectarines

The juiciness of a nectarine is hard to ignore. When they are ripe, the juicy trickles down your arm and you better have a napkin for your mouth.

My poor little 5 foot tall nectarine tree is almost reaching that stage. I have propped up the branches so that the weight of the fruit will not damage the branches as the spread. It has the most beautiful design. It started out as a three foot tree with short branches like an octopus. I have continued its design by pruning vertical branches and now it completely occupies the garden space that once also held iris and violas. The iris will have to be transplanted out when it is cool (ha) this summer. It is planted on the walk up the front to the house. I recovered this land as it started out to be lawn. It once held four roses. Roses are a good choice.. except they don't come with viable food. My neighbors know that they are welcome to my fruit harvest too. They periodically come and pick a few for their table. The man at the end of the cul de sac has a donut peach tree. He goes out and has one every morning. I prunned it for him last year. the tree is doing fine, the peaches are bigger. It also has a design plan.

I think one day soon we are going to have to but some of these nectarines in to a pie or a cobbler. Mom said that her father Bayard liked to have a buckle. A berry buckle or a peach buckle. Grandma Nelly made a great pie crust. I think that that was always the order of the day.. when she wasn't running the cook, or the packing shed.

Have a great summer day... Pat