I never read directions

I did an entry the other day about fruit trees from Stark Brothers.  I stated that one thing I appreciate about Stark brothers is the way I can log into their website and see information about trees I've ordered in the past, along with the care of those trees.  After blogging that entry, I went to their website to go over my past orders and discovered that I had not paid enough attention to directions when I planted my trees in November of 2012.  I've already mentioned that I pruned the plum tree improperly, but there is another thing about that tree I somehow failed to notice:  It isn't a dwarf variety, it's a semi-dwarf.  I spaced it with the other trees as though it were a dwarf, which means it's more closely spaced than it should be.  I'm hoping all the trees can stand a little overcrowding, and they probably can.  

I was looking at some of my past orders while on my Stark Brothers account and saw this, a fairly safe fruit tree spray that I've been using for over a year.  I even spray my baby trees, just in case.  After reading the specifics about this stuff, I learned that it can harm pear trees, especially dwarf varieties.  Guess what?  Every time  I've gone past the three baby (dwarf) pear trees with the sprayer, I've given them a good dose of this.  They are just now starting to leaf out, and I am hoping no harm was done.  I'm just glad I happened to read the directions, finally!  Of course, when I bought the stuff, I didn't have any pear trees, so maybe I did read directions but it wouldn't have mattered at that time.

Here's a mystery:  I have three dwarf apple trees:  a Golden Delicious, a Fuji, and a Gala, all planted in 2010.  Last year the Gala and the Fuji bloomed at the same time.  I know this because that freak snow came in May and killed most of the blossoms on both.  I ended up with one lovely Fuji apple.  This year, the Gala is taking longer to leaf out and has not a single bloom.   Things that make you go "hmmm".  And what's up with the Golden Delicious?  Why is it so slow?  Apples take anywhere from two to five years to bear, and obviously the Golden is pushing the limits and waiting until 2015.  Or maybe even 2016, since they were planted in November and were dormant until the next spring.      

Can you imagine how many apples this tiny tree would provide if every single bloom became an apple?  Although, since it's pollinators are slowpokes, who knows if I will get any fruit.

The Crimson King maple is awake.  

The Golden Rain tree will soon be in the typical umbrella shape.  After I planted this, I found out it's considered to be an invasive species.

The garden is actually starting to look like a garden.  

Strawberries are blooming!  My mother always hoped to have strawberries on her birthday, May 21.