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Bobbing for Apricots and Craving Strawberries

We’re not really going to bob for apricots, but we could.

A close-up view of a tree branch laden with green fruits surrounded by various green plants and foliage.

Apricots hang inches from the ground.

Last year, we hired an arborist to prune our grafted plum and apricot tree. They shaped it beautifully, and it produced lots of fruit, most of it plucked clean by the neighborhood squirrels. No matter. The arborist thought the tree would hold its shape for a few years.

Instead, our grafted fruit tree has sent out long branches, heavy with fruit and dangling close to the ground. I had to prune several branches last month to make the path walkable. When I returned from holiday, the weight of the fruit had pulled most of the apricot branches to within inches of the ground,. The plum graft was standing tall.

This morning, I thinned the branches, removing the ones that were once again draped over the walkway, hoping that the substantial weight doesn’t snap limbs from the tree.  Not for the first time, I may have left a few strands of my hair and a bit of scalp on a low-lying limb. Ouch.

The cherry tomato plant is producing lots of green tomatoes, and the beefsteak has formed at least 2 large fruits.

To our delight, a volunteer strawberry plant appeared under a shrub in the front garden, then sent out runners for a second and perhaps a third plant. So far we’ve had two berries. 

Close-up of strawberry plant leaves and flowers in a garden setting.

Before the advent of tech and the birth of “Silicon Valley,” Santa Clara County was known as the Valley of Heart’s Delight. We were once the largest fruit producer in the United States. 

“Overall, California  produces roughly 90%of all strawberries grown in the United States, with cultivation occurring year-round across approximately 37,000 acres of the state’s central and southern coastal regions.”

All this is to say that if we want delicious, fresh strawberries, there is no need to grow our own. As we move closer to June, I’m looking forward to smoothies, blueberries with frozen yogurt, strawberries, either alone or on cereal, or blended into fruity drinks.

Do you have a summer favorite?

19 thoughts on “Bobbing for Apricots and Craving Strawberries”

  2. We have a ton of strawberries, and the chipmunks and squirrels thank us each year as they chew bites out of almost every one. I focus on blueberries and raspberries which I can somewhat control the birds. Fresh fruit is a wonderful thing whether it comes from your garden or the local farmers’ market.

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  4. That sounds like quite the bounty. Do you ever make jam with the apricots or is doing anything with them a lost cause with the squirrels?

    Strawberries for me too. They are a real treat to look forward to with our long winters!

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    • I’ve never learned how to make jam so the idea feels daunting. I needn’t worry, though, for as you noted, they’re largely eaten by the squirrels. This year, however, the tree is laden with fruit so I have hope.

      Yes to strawberries, especiall after your long winter.

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  6. Not surprisingly, you are so far ahead of us here in Maine. Yesterday, I planted some tomato seedlings, the fair Juliette. While they are nice and tall, there is nary a blossom.

    A little sad to think of how Santa Clara country has gone from being known as the Valley of Heart’s Delight to Silicon Valley. Not that Silicon Valley hasn’t brought the country some benefits (as well as deficits), but fruit trees are such a fine thing. Too bad to lose them.

    I love all berries, but I think raspberries are my favorites.

    Good luck with those trees.

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  7. There is nothing like a fresh apricot off the tree. I used to sit under mine and just eat until I popped. The trees love a massive pruning. It helps make better fruit. You have no idea how much I miss my fruit trees from the Burbank home. Dwarf weeping mulberry was much the same. Prune well, sweeter fruit. I’m just getting some herbs into pots. Better than nothing. Sending hugs.

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  9. Your garden is amazing and so lush. There’s been several stories in the news and in the different teacher’s magazines that I’m subscribing too about Driscolls strawberries in Santa Cruz, making me think that you may want to re-consider growing your own…pesticides are so scary.

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  10. Fave? Hard to say, but this week we’ve had the first of the broadbeans and strawberries along with close to the last of the asparagus and artichokes. Lush salads. Can’t manage apricots tho.

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  11. I grew up in a suburban home in Studio City, CA (a suburb of Los Angeles). When my parents retired, we bought the home. A few years ago we gave up the responsibility. The two things that I miss the most is the lemon tree and the little apricot tree. They lived forever. I’ve often been tempted to knock on the door of the new house built there and ask about their survival but I haven’t the heart for bad news.

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  12. Does that mean you get both plums and apricots on one tree? Wow! I just noticed we have lots of baby pears and apples forming on our fruit trees. I am looking forward to our strawberries in June, and a few blueberries from my potted shrubs later. 😁 Hope you get more strawberries… home grown are always best!

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