Great - I love watching flowers open and close in reaction to the sun.
I have wild poppies and dandelions that do that 
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Love the pictures. They are beautiful flowers. I might have to see if we can get some for our garden.
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Hey @Caty - that is a beautiful switch off space
Thank you, I rarely see the sunrise, if ever. You are indeed lucky, hope you see many more.
Rupert @Rups - Is it too late to prune my apple tree.
I have been meaning to cut back the tree as it is quite big now but haven’t got round to it and now wonder if it is too late.
I am not sure what happens if you prune too late.
Thanks.
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I have looked it up and it says it’s ok to prune an apple tree now. It just says to do on a day when the temperature is above freezing.
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You just want to avoid pruning when the sap is rising just before Spring. As @Mrs5K mentioned, pruning in severe frosty conditions can cause top death and spread disease. I should also mention that it is better to prune on a dry day. Other than that, you’ve generally up until lat Feb to give your apple a trim. Locate deadwood and clear that first. Don’t over prune.
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Thanks Ann and Rupert - that’s good to know.
I thought I had missed the opportunity again (as I did last year).
For some reason I had it in my head this had to be done in autumn/early winter but I think that might be rose bushes?
Anyway, I have an excuse to procrastinate yet again 
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Rupert - I finally managed to prune my apple tree. I did it on Saturday, a bit later than I had hoped but I was otherwise occupied.
I am not sure I have done the haircut as you had suggested and it was difficult as the tree is very tall and I was using a saw to cut off the branches. I managed to cut off the very big branches and avoided accidental damage to the fence and also apart from a few scratches I came out of this unbruised.
I attach a few photos before and after of my handiwork
I think I should trim back a bit more but I didn’t want to stress the tree and I forgot to ask permission to trim. I feel bad about that as I am sure the tree will have been shocked when I started hacking away 
I am hoping to pick out a few branches that I can season with a view to making a walking stick or two.
I am sorry - I was not aware that Saturday is not the day for pruning apple trees. Maybe that is what happened last time - we pruned the tree and it went into a sulk and we had to wait a whole year for it to cheer up again, but it did forgive our foolish ways and rewarded us with a bumper crop the following year which was all gobbled up by our resident squirrels which have now sadly disappeared
I think I follow what you are saying, but this terminology of leaders and whips is new to me and so I am trying to digest all this information.
There are trees in the neighbouring houses which may be affecting our apple tree and may support your suggestion of shooting its leaders high.
I was not aware of the crossovers - to me they are all branches but as I understand it, these need to be pruned back. I’ll note this and if I can do it I will.
Summer pruning - again, noted.
Twines - I think you are referring to the washing lines that I have hung up. I am sorry of using the apple tree for tying washing lines is another faux pas on mother nature but that is what the twine are,. They are not trying to guide the tree, though as it is at the fence we have tried to guide it more inwards to our garden and hence there is a slight lean
Thanks for the tips.
Washing line 
Hi Rupert - What advice would you give for this?
There are some “saplings?” at the base of the apple tree and also near the fence an offshoot from the trunk.
Should I keep these or will they affect the main tree?
I am wondering if I should let them grow this year and then maybe cut down the old tree next year, though I am reluctant to do that. I don’t know what the lifespan for apple trees is, but this tree is possibly over forty years old and it actually been replanted - we took it with us when we moved houses.
The haircut doesn’t seem to have stressed it and it will be interesting to see how it turns out.
These are suckers, get rid. The one on the right however can be carefully cut out from the root and it should have some roots attached. Technically, you could pot it and cultivate a new tree from its mother but may not be the same type of apple depending on the rootstock used for the mother tree.
Will they affect the main tree? Aye, they will suck life from it as they compete to grow.
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Hello Rupert - my apple tree seems to be doing OK after the late haircut I gave it.
There has been some white fluffy mould/fungus which I brushed off and the flowers have been pollenated and apples are starting to grow.
I think you mentioned last time I may need to give it a further prune in the summer?
I attach a few pictures so you can see where I’m at.
It seems the tree is healthy enough but I do need to try to take a cutting so I can grow a new on as this one is old and the trunk is not looking too healthy.
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They’re looking good. We’ve had next to no blossom on our main apple trees this year 
we have a tree that has a very unhealthy trunk & has been like that doe many yeats but still gives up plenty of apples each year.
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Thank you ManjiB. I think you’ve just given me a clear perspective of what our apple trees would look like if we ever considered planting them in the ground…which we have considered in the past. I think ours will be staying in their pots now, and we’ll content ourselves with just the two apples they gift us with each year 
That looks too much like hard work to cut back. Think I’ll be sticking with the gym, much safer 
Yours is looking good though 
Lorraine
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Nice close-ups, can see now that it is a tip-bearer which means less pruning over Summer, in fact, I would probably just leave it now until next Winter. It’s up to you if you want to thin out the apples, that means twist and remove any tiddlers in the clusters, so that the apples you do get are the biggest and best of the crop. You do this gradually as they develop. Not now, they are too small.
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Yes @Mrs5K - I am actually very pleased I was able to give it the haircut this year and it’s turned out rather nice. I took some pictures when it was in bloom - it was beautiful and I used to watch the bees coming to pollenate the flowers and had a good feeling. My only worry now is the moths that came last year might have laid some eggs which may hatch or might get a new infestation.
@EmeraldEyes - this tree has been planted many years ago and in actual fact we haven’t pruned it more than a few times. I had thought of getting patio fruit trees but haven’t made it yet - maybe next year
@Rups - thanks for you tips (I did not know I’ve got a tip-bearer but I do now). Also, my branches for the walking sticks are still out in the garden - I must take them into the loft for the seasoning.
Here are some other things from the garden that are rather pleasing to the eye.
There are some other beautiful wild flowers too but I seem to have deleted those pictures.
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It’s a lovely idea that when, eventually, that tree is gone, you will have walking sticks to remind you of it.
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I live in American South. Last year, my caretaker planted my garden. I couldn’t bend over without wanting to faint and couldn’t manipulate twist ties or other things to help stake the tomatoes. Still have those issues, but lesser.
So this year I’m back at it—tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, hot and sweet peppers, green onions, and basil. Also have a fig tree in the front yard and I use it to can jam to give away.
My wife says I have a “tomato ministry,” but at this point, I’m just happy to be out there, you know? Everything is therapy.
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I too grow tomatoes, they grow surprisingly well here if sheltered and the right variety. Do you grow your basil with your tomatoes? Growing them together is effective companion planting. Useful for discouraging aphids. Post stroke, I do what I call guerrilla gardening: get out when I can, do what I can, do it without overthinking. It could also be called freestyle gardening I guess as I don’t have the energy I used to have for keeping up the pace I used to have.
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Hello Rupert - I am wondering if my apple tree has too many branches/leaves. I have never seen it like this and am not sure if it is because of the haircut trim I did or I have just forgotten how used to look.
There are plenty of apples and I managed to brush away most of the white fluffy fungus as well as the moth webs though some were out of reach and so I left them.
Please have a look and let me know what you think.
Some other flowers and veg that we have grown
As well as the stills, I captured some bees getting nectar/pollenating the flowers. It’s a great little video, but I can’t post it on here.
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Your garden is looking good @ManjiB, lovely rosemary bush. I think the tree is looking pretty good, as I mentioned last post, you could leave it or what you would normally do this Summer is some light pruning, get rid of the weak whips up the top, I have marked them in red. This enables light to get to the fruit thus making them apples fatter, juicer and more attractive to birds and wasps. It would require a step ladder by the looks of it, unless you are well over six foot tall.
The other important thing to do with apple trees is to carefully iron each leaf so that they are nice and smooth. I can advise you which iron to buy if you go down this path, but I fear you may be somewhat out of practice.
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Thank you Rupert - I will send you pictures of the front garden too!
I don’t think I will have time to iron the leaves but I rather think they are already nice and smooth and perhaps once I have done some light pruning, they may be even more glossier and smoother
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