Fruit(less) trees

When we moved into this house, there were no trees, so Lowell and I set out to buy and plant a few.  He had grown up with fruit trees, so that’s what we got, despite my protests that they would just attract bees and hornets, as well as make a huge mess.  In our back yard, we now have 2-year-old apple, plum, and pear trees – one of each.  They look pretty good, with the exception of the apple tree, which developed cedar apple rust last summer.  We sprayed some nasty chemical on it and that seemed to clear it up.  But it appears as though the rust is back…I need to find a less-toxic solution to this problem, as the tree is near my garden and any spray that requires a mask to apply doesn’t sound like it’s good for my veggies…or us!  Since this tree is our dog’s favorite to water, I’d rather not have him subjected to any chemicals either…

None of these trees are producing fruit thus far, so no hornets yet.  

I also cheated a little this last weekend on my tomatoes…I bought a patio plant, just to hedge my bets should the garden not bear fruit.  So far, this patio tomato is the healthiest looking of the bunch.  I have yet to move it from its original plastic container to something prettier, in spite of some adamant protesting on Lowell’s part that it looks “trashy”.  No, dear, “trashy” would be a dead tomato plant in a pretty pot!