What new perspective did/can I gain today?

Thank you, Butterfly. You are a kindred spirit! When I was in Scotland summer before last, we visited many gardens and a few farms. It was terribly dry that year, and so HOT. So unusual for Scotland. I remember looking at my brother in law’s garden, dry as dust, and thinking how compost and mulch could help retain moisture, but of course in Scotland, why would anyone expect things to be so dry? Of course, you have slug and snail issues in the U.K! So maybe mulch is not a good idea. Here in Ohio we can use it, particularly in drier parts of the country, and I use it at the base of my fruit trees and bushes. I do keep two compost piles at home, and at the farm I have a pile of finished compost 15 meters long and almost as tall as me! So when you said compost, I thought, “Oh, I LIKE this Butterfly!!!!” 🙂 Yes, you are truly a kindred spirit.

I have three trees to plant that are in pots in my back yard waiting for me to get out there with a shovel. Two are apple trees that were in blossom before this snow, but they have lost all their blossoms to the snow, and you can see their lovely pink petals on the ground. They had only just opened, as had the blossoms on my older apple tree, so I think I will not have apples this year. I have five blueberry bush starts that I brought indoors, since they were not planted yet. It’s mostly the blossoms I worry about. One late snow or heavy frost, and then they don’t get pollinated for the year. I don’t know what I can do about that other than plant a variety of trees. I have one cherry tree and it had it’s blossoms earlier, so I think it will be okay this year. My apple trees are different kinds, but they were all in blossom at the same time. I don’t know. Next time, a garden blanket maybe?