• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Home Garden Joy
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Gardening Basics
    • Seed Starting
    • Composting Basics
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Growing Fruit
    • Growing Herbs
  • Recipes
    • Canning and Food Preservation
    • Vegetarian Meals
    • Salad Recipes
    • Soup Recipes
    • Dinner Recipes
    • Dessert Recipes
  • Books & Classes
    • Classes
    • Books
    • Books for Christian Herbalists
  • About
    • Writer Jeanne Grunert
    • Advertise
    • Awards and Accolades
    • Privacy Policy

The Beauty of an Old Apple Tree

October 16, 2015 by Jeanne

Yesterday, Hubby, Shadow and I hiked a portion of the Appalachian Trail from Hog Camp Gap called the Tar Jacket Ridge. We hiked out about 5 miles, ate lunch and rested, and then return hiked to our car. It was a glorious day for an autumn hike, with trees like this:

IMG_4748 Appalachian trail trees

Does fall get any better than this? Clear blue skies, crisp air, and golden leaves everywhere? One section of the trail floor looked like stained glass from the swirls of purple, crimson, ochre and gold leaves everywhere. And the scent. The scent! Of fall! Crisp leaves. Woodland vistas. Mountains.

And apples.

One of the most interesting things on the Tar Jacket Ridge Trail are the remnants of the old homesteads up on the mountain. An old stone wall, built by hand with rocks piled up, greeted us at one section. Apple trees, so heavily laden with fruit that their boughs touched the earth, graced several sections of the trail. I lost count of how many trees remained along the trail.

Here is one…what a stately grandfather he is:

apple tree on trail

I wish I knew how old the trees were. Look at the apples on that tree!

It gives me hope for my own apple trees. Sure, my trees are only about 7 years old. But these apple trees, guarding the Appalachian Trail as they do, receive NO care whatsoever. No pruning, no spraying, no fertilizing, no babying. It’s just whatever Mother Nature throws their way winter, spring, summer and fall. They seem to flourish from neglect.

We took home two different apple varieties and will try to grow some from seed. Growing apples from seed is a tricky business. Apple genetics being what they are, the seeds may be true to type, or they may revert to any of the genetic stock found within the parent plant. Grafting has left apples with as gnarled and a twisted DNA as any human family tree. But it will be an interesting experiment, for sure, and I am simply hoping for a tough tree, like this one, that will produce apples for canning, juice and cider.

The entire hike was 10.25 miles and I am feeling it today, mostly in my calves. Shadow, our dog, was a trooper. She hikes with her own backpack. Her we are on the trail yesterday. I am already missing the forest…the trees…the birds and the cool breezes….

Jeanne Shadow

Although there’s so much work left to do in the garden before the anticipated freeze this weekend, it’s equally as important to savor every day, and especially to refresh and replenish your soul. For me, that means a day spent with my two loves – my husband and my dog – and spending it in the place I love best, the woods and the mountains.

 

Jeanne
Jeanne

Jeanne Grunert is a certified Virginia Master Gardener and the author of several gardening books. Her garden articles, photographs, and interviews have been featured in The Herb Companion, Virginia Gardener, and Cultivate, the magazine of the National Farm Bureau. She is the founder of The Christian Herbalists group and a popular local lecturer on culinary herbs and herbs for health, raised bed gardening, and horticulture therapy.

Tweet
Share
Pin
Share
0 Shares

Filed Under: Growing Fruit Tagged With: apple trees

Follow me on social media

Like
Follow
Follow
Follow
Follow
Previous Post: « Tiny Red Worms in Pond
Next Post: Tucking Your Strawberry Plants in for the Winter »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gardener on Sherlock Street

    October 19, 2015 at

    My favorite part of this post:

    Although there’s so much work left to do in the garden before the anticipated freeze this weekend, it’s equally as important to savor every day, and especially to refresh and replenish your soul. For me, that means a day spent with my two loves – my husband and my dog – and spending it in the place I love best, the woods and the mountains.

    Very true. Not blogging much currently because some opportunities have come my way to get away with my hubby and see some new things.

    Enjoy every moment!

Trackbacks

  1. Trimming Apple Trees: How to Prune Apple Trees says:
    February 26, 2018 at

    […] apple trees to ensure good fruit production and healthy trees. Although it’s true that in the wild apple trees are “pruned” only by the wind and weather, in the backyard garden, pruning helps shape […]

Primary Sidebar

Let’s Connect!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • YouTube

Featured

logo of the american horticulture society

Home Garden Joy was featured by the American Horticultural Society on #plantchat.

We were featured in Porch.com and answered reader's questions about indoor plants.

Writer Jeanne Grunert

cover of plan and build a raised bed garden

Find all my books on Amazon.com

Gardening Articles

Vegetable Gardening Tips and Tricks

17 year cicada

Do the 17 Year Cicadas Hurt Gardens?

strawberries are great for vertical gardening

Vertical Gardening to Expand Your Space

rosemary growing in containers for space saving gardens

5 EASY Space Saving Vegetable Garden Ideas

Footer

a plate of Sicilian pasta sauce with cauliflower

Vegan Cauliflower Recipe: Sicilian Sauce

I adapted this vegan cauliflower recipe for Sicilian sauce to my family’s low salt, plant based diet – and got great results. It’s easy to make, tastes wonderful, and gives us another meatless meal for Lent. If you are a Christian seeking Friday dinner ideas for Lent, or simply have a head of cauliflower you…

Read More

A stack or portobello mushrooms with garnish

Marinaded and Grilled Portobello Mushroom Steaks

I made these marinaded and grilled portobello mushroom steaks last night for dinner and they came out delicious! Alongside a pot of fresh vegetable soup and crusty, homemade Italian bread, it was a feast worthy of a king – but 100% vegetarian. Let’s get cooking! What Is a Portobello Mushroom? Portobello mushrooms are large brown…

Read More

a woman holding a popover with the cream interior revealed and two other popovers on a plate

Best Popover Recipe

This is the best popover recipe ever! It was easy to make and turned out delicious popovers. This was my first time making popovers, and I can’t remember the last time I had one, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. As usual, I turned to my trusty Fannie Farmer 13th Edition Cookbook and found…

Read More

Christmas present under the tree

Christmas Gifts for Gardeners: Your Holiday Gift Guide

Are you looking for Christmas gifts for gardeners? This is your holiday gift guide to find the perfect present for that special gardener in your life! Ready? Let’s go shopping! Christmas Gifts for Gardeners: Your Holiday Gift Guide Maybe you’re searching for the perfect Christmas gifts for gardeners in your life. Or perhaps you are…

Read More

Copyright © 2023 Home Garden Joy on the Foodie Pro Theme