Welcoming the other two pear trees

Today my dad took me to two different nurseries to buy the Patten and Summercrisp pear trees. I spent the morning calling around to the places on my list that said they'd have the trees in stock this weekend. Its a good thing I did, because things didn't seem to have gone according to plan with a lot of these places. Some told me it'd be another week or two, or three. Some changed their minds about what they were going to carry. We ended up getting the Patten pear tree at Anoka Ramsey Farm and Garden for $34.99. The Summercrisp pear tree we got at Mickman Brothers Garden Center in Ham Lake for $49.99. Both were in potted containers that were smaller than the '5 gallon' containers the other two trees came in.

I started out with two holes, at least a foot deep




Here is the rather bare Patten tree


Here is the Summercrisp tree sporting some leaves


what remains of the dirt pile, which will soon be carted off by someone else to help regrade a corner of her houses foundation.


and just for some color, heres my tulips


for my own reference, in case i forget what i planted where in the future.


and a special thanks to my dad for buying these trees for me as well, and helping me haul them home as they would not have fit in my little car.

The difference a week can make

Parker has more leaves coming out


Luscious has lots of pretty flowers!

a garden update

my newly tilled potato patch thanks to daves monster tiller and dads help


now its fenced in. they're no longer selling the green fencing material i'd been using so i went with poultry netting to keep the bunnies and dogs out.


my tomato seedlings

The Beginning of the Pear Trees!

this is the 'luscious' pear tree on OHxF rootstock which is semi-dwarf and cold hearty, grown right here in minnesota. the nursery we bought them from said they are from baileys nursery in st paul.

(if you look at the picture above behind the pear tree, you can see the tree stump from the tree my dad cut down last fall, and on either side of it are the two other holes that are dug. you can see how close they are to the stump and why i'm encountering lots of roots over there)

another view of the luscious


the 'parker' pear tree also semi-dwarf


another view, showing the nifty tree watering ring that cost $6.95


buds from the parker


buds from the luscious


the dirt pile, now down to half its original size


thanks to my dads help, i've got two trees down, and two more to go next weekend. assuming the weather cooperates, i'll be putting in a 'patten' and a 'summercrisp' then. i've got the holes dug, i just need to clear out some of the roots.

i still need to pick up some mulch to put around them. these two trees were purchased for $45 each at shades of green nursery and landscaping up in anoka off 169. i'll have to go elsewhere for the other two. i'm thinking nowthen nursery in elk river, though i have a nice list of about 12 metro nurseries and garden centers and which trees they carry. and my dad, bless him, he bought me the trees!