If I lived in France I'd have fields and fields of vegetable gardens, rock walls, a French lover and a reasonable sized chateau surrounded by a fence made from espaliered apple trees.
You can't tell me any different. I would have all that on my mediocre blogger's salary.
Because in my imagination that's the way it is. In fact it's even a little bit better because I'd be able to speak fluent french, my clothes would all be made out of linen and lavender and I'd drive a little ivory convertible which is always in to be repaired by Henri, the village mechanic/clothing designer (French men are multitalented like that).
Luckily Henri is happy to trade late evening dinners in my courtyard in exchange for repair costs. I usually hear him crunching across the pea gravel around 9:30 at night after work, just as I'm ripping apart a freshly baked loaf of rustic bread and placing it in with the charcuterie of olives, cured meats, ripe cheeses and sliced apples. A drop of sweat runs down his neck, rolling over the hard curve of his chest, landing somewhere below ....
Oh shit. That's right, this post is about apples. Sorry, I don't know what happened there.
As it turns out I don't live on a French farm with rolling hills of hot farm hands. Instead I live in a small town on what's as close to a microfarm as I can manage. I've smashed vegetables, chickens, a maple syrup tree, rhubarb and a smattering of flowers into my lot and am generally pretty happy with it all.
What I always wanted was a fruit tree though.
But with fruit trees you need TWO fruit trees so they can pollenate each other, THEN you need a lot of space because ... they're fruit trees. They're big and bushy and kind of bossy in general.
But a few years ago, several years ago I started really researching Espaliered fruit trees. Apples specifically. They're pruned so they grow flat and beautiful against a fence or wall. They get wider and thicker but they don't get taller. Kind of like women after the magical age of 40.
I considered planting some along my big side fence but I already have boxwoods there (which coincidentally also surround my French courtyard. Henri sometimes trims them for me).
Also if any kids picked the apples (and of course they would, why wouldn't they?) I'd be FURIOUS. I might even cry and I'd definitely make a scene. I don't care if kids pick my tomatoes or cucumbers or anything else that hangs outside of my front vegetable garden fence. In fact I encourage people passing by to pick whatever they want. But the APPLES? No. No, no, no.
Then a few years ago things got even worse. A fruit nursery about an hours drive from my house started selling 6 in 1 apple trees. One apple tree, with 6 different types of apple branches grafted onto it.
This meant you got 6 different varieties from one tree. And that tree happened to be an Espaliered tree.
It was a match made in tiny lot heaven. But it was a long drive and I had no way to transport the tree and they were expensive and I still didn't think I had anywhere to plant it where it would thrive; so every spring I'd dream about one but never go and actually buy one.
Cut to 3 weeks ago with me twirling through Home Depot in a Julie Andrews, Sound of Music, type manner - because that's how I always act and feel when I'm in a home improvement store. Mid twirl, arms spread wide open, I Von Trapped myself right into a row of 6 in 1 Espaliered apple trees for sale.
I immediately bought two.
I had no idea where I was going to plant them but at $54 each I wasn't going to miss out on this once in an imaginary lifetime opportunity. France Karen would never pass up an espaliered apple tree for $54. Never. Henri would never forgive her. Jacque would probably be pretty upset too. Jacque is my neighbour with the vineyard and 4 donkeys who are always escaping into my pool area to graze on my Rosemary. Heh. Those donkeys.
Since I've been researching these trees for years now I knew exactly how to plant them. And by the time I got home I knew where I was going to plant them too.
I put one on either side of my porch railing, a nice flat surface,
If you have just bought an espalier tree or are thinking of it, you should read this post where I lay out all the steps and hardware for planting an espalier plus you can see how big they've gotten in the years since I planted them.
Henri would love this.
Oh, I'm sorry, you want to know what kind of apples?
You're impressed aren't you? You love it don't you?
To that I say Merci Beaucoup.
This reminds me of the artist Sam Van Aken. Google his name and 40 kinds of fruit tree. You should take a look at the video on YouTube. Pretty fantastic stuff.
Yes, very impressed! : )
Three years ago I purchased two apple trees from someone on Craigslist. One was the five-variety tree, but as I did not have a flat wall in the sun to plant it on espalier style, I planted it in the middle of the front lawn. My horrified son promptly asked "do you have clearance from Dad to do this?" Hah hah, as if.
Anyway, in year 3 the five-variety, non-espaliered espalier is doing best with a good crop of 4 types; the Granny Smith branch has only one apple.
My point is to not be deterred by the lack of a wall; you can still grow multiple varieties! Until the neighbourhood bears and raccoons discover the fruit.
I'm loving the word turnbuckle! Can I borrow Henri to trim my bush please, it's all over the bloody place.
Fab: I saw you had planted one tree on the left side of the house and immediately thought: 'please tell me she has learned her lessons in symmetry and French garden design and will plant one in exactly the same place on the opposite side'.
Hah! Ye of little faith. Of course you did. This is beautiful and I am very proud of you . Now excuse me while I finish baking my jostaberry tart for Henri who is coming round later to sort out my plumbing.
When it grows won't it require rewiring? I'm very confused. Does each type blossom sequentially so that they don't cross pollinate? If this turns out looking like I picture it - it is going to be the "thing" that people drive by just to look at. So pretty in my mind like a Mary Engelbreit painting. I know that you are busy "splaining yourself Lucy" to Edris right now, but when you get done can you please tell us how you will keep kids from climbing up the tree and onto your roof. I planted my first tree this year - an expensive peach tree. It was growing beautifully and lots of blossoms. Then came the tiny green orbs of potential bliss. Then came the deer and in one night, stripped it naked. I had one very tiny low hanging peach and 18 leaves left. The peach ripened into sweet and yummy peachness and leaves came back but deer have left it alone. So I ate the peach. They also ate the dill, basil, and some flowers. The bugs (strange ones I've never seen before - probably morphed due to all the nasty spray the county uses at night to control mosquitoes) ate the tomatoes and the eggplants died of too much rain. Great year in my garden. Vowed not to try to garden anymore but read your blog and just pretend. Still getting stuff done here!
I have a visual of you making an apple tart for Henri, and as you're rolling out the tender, flaky crust on your proving cloth (from Rough Linen) you are thinking about the sweet sticky juice on his lips and... oh wait a minute what are we talking about, turnbuckles?
Whatever happened with your book? Did you decide not to do it after all?
Oh! I should write a post on that Sonia! ~ karen
I've always wanted a French chateau with a rich Frenchman who will bring me a fresh croissant every morning. would my coffee still be an Americano?? Oui, Oui instead of Wee, wee.
But more than that I've wanted espaliered fruit trees all my life. My daughter and I were talking about them on the WEEkend. now I have a better shot at the fruit. thanks
Karen, is the trunk too close to the edge of your porch or does it just loom that way from the angle of the photos? I'm worried that the trunk will get thicker and you will need to trim your porch boards!
Also as an aspiring homesteader in impressed with the sheer volume you grow and produce! Brilliant!
Hi Mel! It should be fine. It won't grow too, too much. Generally as a rule you plant the espalier 6" from the area you're wiring it against. That's to give it air flow between the space and tree. ~ karen!
I thought I was the only one that dreamed of a quaint stone house in the countryside of France, with a lover, er, I mean mechanic/clothing designer named Henri. Tell me you hold your shampoo bottle and practice you Academy Award speech for Best Actress. I would hate to think I'm alone in that too.
Love eye bolts -- turning mechanism scares me a bit. Thinking donkeys won't munch rosemary so much as your apple tree says me twirling Julie Andrews style :)
Hey Karen we have a tiny property as well and have researched for about 3 years. I ordered one of these babies from a company in Oregon 2 years ago only to be disappointed by a letter saying the grafting failed 2x. This spring when while perusing Home Depot for butterfly bushes....I was attacked by a horizontal bamboo stick from a 4 branch apple espalier! Omg a sign from above..I squished 3 of them in my VW as I thought they would disappear! Like a mirage! I had a few people entertained loading these babies...but got them home whole and safe. They're planted and they have little baby apples on many of the branches. I'm in love! Best wishes on yours....so much fun!
Very cool, but in the future, how do you plan on painting your porch?
The first thing I thought was How will she paint the porch - glad you asked.
Me too! Great minds, huh?!
Wow, would love to have that same dream, well for real, not imaginary! I would love to grow any espaliered plant, but especially one of those apple trees, wow 6 in 1! I have a couple of dwarf trees, lemon, peach and fig. How much sun will they get where you planted them? The sun is so hot here in Texas, right now a bunch of my plants are dying, but some others are coming to replace them, like bulbs. My house gets either all day sun, a lot of it, or shade, not much in between. I grow a lot of plants right where the shade and sun meet, even plants that say they can take all day sun don't seem to make it if they are out in full sun all day. Good luck, and yes think of writing a full story of living in France! :)
Ha ! I live in France and was transported, even so, by your vision ! I don't have any espaliered trees, but hope to one day...in the meantime I have a stone wall in progress and the veggie gardens and a British version of Henri, so not doing too badly ! Haven't got the ivory convertible though - will a battered Renault Espace do ?
Looking forward to seeing how your trees progress. I planted a pear tree this year (needed it for cross pollinating with another one) - but the blackfly got it and the leaves are looking a bit shrivelled. No pears for me this year.
truly impressed and not a little bit envious! Well done.
I am impressed. Completely. Not only with the incredible detail in your imaginary love life and the magical trees but, with your aluminum sleeve mashing abilities. My hands cringe and I still cry when I think about that job. I did some last fall and the only way I could do it (they were no longer in a place where I could smash them with a hammer) was with a pair of vise-grip jaw locking pliers. *sob* lol.
I have a few questions though. One I thought that you'd answer in the post but, you bought two trees.
**If there are six types of apples will they pollinate each other?
**Do they have to grow flat against a wall? or is that just the Espaliered style? Can they grow...like a regular tree?
Yes, I just may go and look this up...I've got some ideas.
The tree does pollinate itself Gillian! I thought for sure I mentioned that because it's important, lol. But maybe not. These particular trees were already trained in the espalier style with horizontal branches so yes you would probably only grow them on a wall or fence where you can attach wires to keep them in shape. But there are 6 variety apple trees that aren't trained in the espalier style. They're just regular looking trees. ~ karen!
Awesome! Thanks!! I may have been distracted while reading by visions of French Countryside and rippling muscles....lol
Like Robert, I would totally read your romance novel series.
And I am beyond thrilled that there's a Macintosh on the tree, because I love Macintosh apples. We get a decent variety of apples in the stores and on the markets (I live in Germany), but for some reason I am having a hard time finding the "old fashioned" apples. I guess I'm at that age where you feel like things are not as great as they used to be (skin, TV, apples ...) Actually it really is true, as I've noticed even the people at farmer's markets don't always know the old apple cultivars!
In short: YAY, Macintosh! :D
Macintosh is still a staple here in Ontario, for baking at least.
It is the National Apple of Canada (according to wikipedia) so maybe that's why you can't find it in Germany.
Nice apples.
Is Henri your only French lover, or are you cheating on one lover with the hired help? Henri sounds fabulous, but you need to consider that being your pretty-much full time auto mechanic, in addition to designing your lovely natural fiber French frocks, won't leave him much time or energy for "cozy times". At least for the long term, and you'd want to keep a peach like Henri healthy over the long haul.