Around this house we seem to be obsessed with ways to create work for ourselves.  My husband is uber-project boy and is always engaged is some sort of hobby/craft/construction/etc.  Several such projects are under way at this moment and I will be sharing one of them in a few weeks (Hint: large talons).

The most recently completed project is one that actually really excites me.  We have often talked about developing an orchard and we finally made it happen.  Okay, I should say that my husband made it happen, I just sort of took pictures of the process.  The one major input I had was what sort of fruit to purchase.

Next to our driveway was an empty, weed filled space that led downhill to the barn.  It is bordered by the drive, horse corral, and road to the barn.  Using the trusty tractor my husband filled in some holes and made a nice sloping orchard space. 

We laid out the spacing and started planting.  We bought bare root trees and plants so they all had to soak.

We think it is very important to provide moral support to the one person in our family who volunteers to do the digging.

Most of the trees are dwarf fruit trees so they are a good size for the kids.  They were able to do a lot of the hole-filling and straightening while we planted.  Actually, my daughter did a lot of the planting, my son decided it was more fun to play in the tractor scoop.

In total, we planted eight trees.  Here is what we are growing:
2 Apples (we put one apple in last year so we added a second for variety)
2 Pears
2 Cherries
2 Nectarines

We also planted a few grape vines.  Over the last five years, we have tried three times to grow grapes and have failed each time.  I find it ironic that we live in the heart of wine country and the one thing we can't grow is grapes.  Maybe we will get lucky this time.

It exciting to already see buds on the trees, can't wait to eat some home grown fruit.  I should mention that even though the hubby really wanted an orchard, he hates fruit.  Odd, huh?