Today in the orchard
This evening I gave a talk to an enthusiastic group at the Old Town House in Belgrade. The focus of the evening was the historic Belgrade apples and the Belgrade orchardist, Joseph Taylor (1804-1882). In the days before summer vacations, the majestic Belgrade Hotel and the dozens of camps that line the shores of the lakes, the area was a thriving farming community. Orcharding was popular, and Joseph Taylor became famous for his large collection of cultivars as well as his seedling introductions. Beehive, Childs, Columbus, Rome of Maine, Sugarball, Winfred Scott and Zachary were some of his local selections. We think we’ve found as many as four or five of them; but because the descriptions are vague, we’re unsure of which might be which. We’re on the lookout for more information.
The Smith Hill tree with Great Pond beyond, July 30, 2025
Great Pond, the largest of the Belgrade Lakes, is what I consider to be the unofficial center of the universe (in case you were wondering). To prepare myself for the evening, I spent the afternoon circumnavigating Great Pond in my truck, stopping at the sites of some of my favorite trees. A few of them are still in decent shape, but many of them are completely gone. You’d never even know there had ever been an apple tree there. Fortunately all of them are backed up at the Maine Heritage Orchard or here on the farm. One of those I visited was the tree on the site of the old Smith Hill farm between Long Pond and Great Pond adjacent to the club house at the Belgrade Lakes Golf Course. It’s been DNA profiled, but we still have no ID. Many thanks to whomever it was who didn’t cut it down when they put in the putting green.
