Crab apples are beautiful, compact trees with vibrant autumn foliage followed by clusters of buttery yellow, bright ruby red or mellow orange fruits that adorn the branches for many months. Spring brings prolific flowering with pure white, pink and red blossom, and attractive foliage, often with deep purple tones. Thriving in almost any soil and… Continue reading Crab Apple Trees: Year-Round Interest
Category: Fruit Trees
Heritage Fruit: History in the Garden
Growing and harvesting fruit is one of the great joys of gardening. Nothing quite matches the luxury of eating warm raspberries and blueberries straight from the garden, picking the first rosy Worcester Pearmain of the season in September, or finding the soft fuzz has rubbed off the quinces in mid-October, revealing shiny yellow pear-shaped fruits… Continue reading Heritage Fruit: History in the Garden
Bring on the blossom
Every year the anticipation mounts. I look out of my bedroom window at the ornamental plum tree on the street, scouring its deep claret branches for signs that the colour is changing, life stirring within. Subtly, from a solid winter opacity to something with just a hint of deepest rose. Sometimes I think I see… Continue reading Bring on the blossom
Bramley Apple and Almond Pudding Cake
This decadent cake is a brilliant way to use up any Bramley apples left over from the season. Serve warm with crème fraiche or even custard if you fancy, it will soak into the rich sponge and balance the tart apples Serves 8 Ingredients For the apples: 2 large Bramley apples, peeled, quartered and cut… Continue reading Bramley Apple and Almond Pudding Cake
Recipe: Homemade damson vodka
2013 has been a bumper year for damsons. A hot summer, with just enough rain to swell the fruit is best for damsons and results in branches that are groaning under the weight of all that fruit And while you can of course make damson jam, damson cheese, damson chutney and damson sauce, there is nothing… Continue reading Recipe: Homemade damson vodka
A guide to fruit tree pollination
The science (and sometimes the snake-oil) can run deep when it comes to fruit tree pollination. You could read endless books and research studies on how to optimise your orchard with a diversity of cross-pollinators to achieve a bumper crop. For most growers, it’s actually pretty straightforward to get the right results. This guide should… Continue reading A guide to fruit tree pollination
Freezing weather & bareroot plants
Most of the damage caused to bareroot plants in cold, freezing conditions is to the delicate roots themselves. The roots are fine, fibrous structures with a high water content: moving them, or even the slightest touch whilst frozen, can cause damage. Almost all of a shrub or a tree’s energy reserves are stored in the… Continue reading Freezing weather & bareroot plants
Best medlar jelly recipe
Well made medlar jelly is a true delight. It is beautiful to look at: amber with pink highlights and very glossy. And medlar jelly is joyous to taste; some say it is like sweet cider infused with cinnamon and a touch of allspice. Whatever your adjectives it is utterly delicious, wondrously fragrant and gives a… Continue reading Best medlar jelly recipe
When to clip, trim & prune hedges?
Winter and Summer Winter is generally the best time to prune woody subjects and it certainly is the best time to trim the hedge plants you have just planted. Hedges must be clipped and sometimes pruned. Fruit trees need some pruning to maintain the best crops. Older ornamental trees can need pruning if they are damaged or… Continue reading When to clip, trim & prune hedges?
Fruit Trees at Altitude
We get lots of enquiries about growing fruit trees in the UK at altitude, often from people who have seen Sepp Holzer at over 3600ft in Austria. They are surprised to hear us say: “Unfortunately, your high altitude, windswept location sounds beautiful, but terrible for fruit trees in the UK. South facing gets sun, but… Continue reading Fruit Trees at Altitude