Hello garden gals and guys! Yes, it has been a while since my last blog post. My plants have given about all that they can give and, honestly, I get a little tired toward the end of the season (there, I admitted it!).

But I just had to write today because I harvested apples from Carmela the Apple Tree (named after my maternal grandmother) for the first time! They have such great “snap” to them (as my hubby likes to say) and they are sweet but also a little tart! SO delicious! Kind of remind me of a Granny Smith.

I bought this apple tree on sale for five dollars three years ago. It is a dwarf Goldrush apple tree. It said I would get apples by the second year. Well, year two provided not so much as a blossom. Hmph. This past winter, the center branch was getting really, really tall. I went out there–in the middle of winter– and cut the central stem back.

Now, this is a BIG no-no when pruning your trees. After I did this, some blossoms grew on the tree (yes, in the middle of winter). Everything I read said that the tree would now die because you are never to prune in the winter months.

Well, this spring, my tree was LOADED with blossoms! This is what I call a great gardening accident. Today, I picked a whole LARGE BOWL full of apples. I also made an apple pie too! But enough talk, I’ll let the pictures tell the story.

There were more apples on the tree than branches!

Front shot of me and “Carmela”

Had to reach up high to get the last four!

I was just tickled pink (like my shirt)!

Proud mama with her first apple harvest!

Now, here’s the best part. My daughter and I made an apple pie from scratch! The crust may not be magazine worthy, but we made it ourselves!!