Five evenings in a row I have waded through our yard in bare feet, stopped before one of our two overburdened fruit trees, and plucked plumped-up plums or peaches from the branches. I eat as if standing over a sink, bent at the waist and legs spread, letting the sun-warmed juice pour out of the wounds I make in the fruit’s flesh and drip into the summer-thick grass. A peach stain on a T-shirt can mark it for life, but in this desert the grass is greedy for moisture.
While the plum tree has been in business since long before we bought our house, the peach is a new addition, tucked into the ground just three years ago. The woman at the garden center instructed us to nip off all infant fruits for several years so the tree could settle. I would not have obeyed, but the decision was made for us. Until this summer it withheld its treasures from us, choosing instead to grow and spread. And this year, like a gift, it is heavy with peaches, small and sweet and beautiful.
We have more, though, than our twin trees, all flourishing in turn, overlapping their seasons so we always have something fresh and delicious from last frost to first snow. The sugar snaps this spring grew fat on their vines as the tomato plants rooted and flowered. And when the peas withered and died in the summer heat, the tomatoes took over, the plants filling with engorged red orbs.
In July the tiny green globes on our neighbor’s apricot tree, which graciously spans into our backyard, swelled into sweet orange fruits, just waiting for my hands to pluck and eat, one after the other. And eat I did, pulling the fruits from the sun-dappled branches overhead, closing my eyes as the flavor burst on my tongue.
The apricots have long since ceased production and the last of the peaches went to my parents last night. Soon our plum tree will be free of fruit, the bounty shared with friends and family and neighbors, but the first of our cucumbers is now begging to be picked. This evening we will have salads in celebration.
Some people own stoic mansions hidden behind sweeping gates; swimming pools brimming with cool, blue water; low, shiny sports cars that hug the curves in the road at any speed. But a garden and fruit trees are, to me, the greatest of luxuries.
plums and peaches?! sigh. jealous: party of 1! 🙂
That sounds just lovely. I hope soon we’ll be able to start and keep up our own garden.
You ought to try canning! I hear it’s pretty easy and then you can enjoy the fruits of your labor in wintertime too. But, I’ve never tried it myself…
I’d like to put my jam order in now please! You’ve got my mouth watering. We’ve got an apricot tree and I love eating them right off the branch! Good luck with your fall harvest!
Yum. And beautifully written. I need to get myself to a farmer’s market.
Keri, I’m so jealous of your watermelon! I’ve never successfully grown one, although my vines usually look great. If all I wanted was greenery I’d be set. And good luck with your sad sapling. I hope it is soon invigorated.
Muse, sorry about the rocks. It’s taken a few years for us to get to the point where we can walk barefoot in it. The grass was this weird prickly variety when we moved in. Oh, and your cobbler recipe sounds delicious. I do love cobbler.
LOL! Love your phrasing, Virginia!
Erin, for some reason canning makes me nervous, probably because I’ve never tried it. If I ever have a big enough bounty to make it worth it, though, I’ll give it a try. If you do it first, let me know how it turns out!
Sure thing, Robin! What flavor? Actually, we didn’t get enough peaches for jam, but I could probably swing some plum jam. Enjoy your apricots! They’re delicious right off the tree, aren’t they?
Alyssa, we have a wonderful farmers’ market here in town, and it supplements the produce I can’t or didn’t grow. Unfortunately, I often forget to go until it’s wrapping up. I need to be better about it.
We have apple and pear trees. While we enjoy them- so do the bears who live in the woods near our home. It makes for some interesting back yard encounters.
mm, yes you’re making me crave peaches! sounds so delicious.
Oh, Eileen! I can see how that could definitely be a problem. I hadn’t even thought about that.
Emily, now that we’ve run out we’ve been able to find some delicious ones at the grocery store. I love peach season, even when the fruit in question doesn’t come directly from one of my trees.
My mouth is watery as I type. Oh sweet peaches, plucked in barefeet – summer just doesn’t get any better. My first “house” in Moab had a fantastic apricot and peach tree and I’ve never enjoyed either fruit more than I did, strolling out in the morning to select my breakfast from the tree limbs.
My garden has been far less fruitful this summer. We’ve managed to harvest 1 green pepper, no squash (though lovely flowers on the squash plant), and just this weekend I ate my first home-grown tomatoe of the season. There should be many more little red treats to come over the next few weeks.
My god, if your blog posts are this poetic, I can’t wait to read one of your books!
We used to have a garden a long time ago, but it kept getting destroyed by the local wildlife (bunnies, deer, etc…), so we stopped. We still had tomatoes on the porch for a few years after that, because they’re supposed to help with bugs, but they didn’t last, either!
I’d love to have fruit trees/plants around, because fruit if my favorite. Apples and peaches… Mmm… I’m hungry.