Nous Sommes Les Poiriers

Daniel sent me a photo and message at work today: "Anjou and Bartlett pear trees and an Italian Plum tree!" Every day is an adventure. 

Pear and Plum

I visited Mummy after work and borrowed some gardening implements. When I arrived home, I immediately poured myself a glass of Deinhard Riesling (to which Keith introduced me this weekend at the cottage), slipped into my sexy bug-shirt, ducky boots, and  LL Bean jeans (this is not a fashion blog), grabbed a hoe and started scruffing a spot in the "orchard" to plant a pear tree.

gardening garb

you're a ho'

Removing grass would be a whole lot easier if we had a goat. Also, if we had a goat, I wouldn't have to buy expensive goat cheese rolled in volcanic ash from the Canary Islands. However, as I buffed my triceps and scruffed the grass off a 2' diameter circle of lawn, Daniel was preparing a feast of grilled salmon, saffron rice, and lobster chowder (left over from yesterday - and even more flavourful on day 2). More Deinhard Riesling. So I can't complain.

appreciate the 10 and 2 grill marks on the salmon

After dinner, Daniel Poirier came out to do the heavy digging with pick and shovel (only fair as the name Poirier means "pear farmer" in French). Our soil seems to be clay and rock ... does that count as soil? No sandy loam in sight.

Monsieur Poirier in a pear tree

We dug a big hole twice the diameter of the pot and sprinkled in some sheep manure and real soil (from a bag). I carefully removed the tree from its pot the way Mummy showed me - like taking a cake out of the pan - and placed it in the hole; Daniel shoveled in the rest of the bagged soil and I tamped it down with my ducky boots. This was followed by the clay and rocks we dug out of the hole and topped with a wheelbarrow full of mature chicken manure and shavings from the coop; this will both prevent weeds and provide fertilizer to the tree.

Et voila! One pear tree is planted. One more to go, along with the Italian plum tree who needs to find another European plum tree for pollination purposes ... perhaps a little French treelette will do.

Her name is Anj.