My favorite local nursery, One Green World, will host their first of two orchard tours this weekend! I might bring a travel mug of tea with me, to keep fighting whatever lingering bug I have, but at this point I am just excited to attend. We went last year on their October tour and had a blast!
According to their website, the tour this Saturday should feature cornelian cherries, asian pears, sea berry juice and more to sample. One of the biggest benefits of this tour is seeing the unusual fruiting trees and shrubs in their full growth state. We added a couple cornelian cherries to our landscape this year, but I have no idea what they will look like five years from now.
The tour on October 11th will feature paw paws, grapes, apples, hardy kiwis, etc. We tasted about 12 different varieties of grapes last Fall to decide which ones to add to our edible landscape. They had over a dozen apples out for sampling as well. The paw paw fruit was 
good, but I am not convinced they are worth the effort. And the hardy kiwis were just the most delicious things ever! I can’t wait for the ones growing on our pergola to start producing fruit! Their fall color should be a brilliant yellow, which I am looking forward to as well.
Fall is also a great time of the year to plant trees and shrubs. I am trying to keep things under control with how much I will ultimately spend this weekend, but I am planning on adding several small shrubs into our garden. I found room for another fruit tree in our yard as well, so I am trying to decide between some self-fertile fruits. Seeing them in their adult state at the orchard should help make my decision.
My gardener friends that I have been trying to rope into going out there with me are all bailing! But it might be nice to linger in their gardens without thinking I might be holding someone up. I will be sure to bring my camera and share any new and amazing discoveries!
