It’s that time of year when the trees are heavy with apples, ready to be picked and eaten! My family always enjoy a good old toffee apple during carnival season. They’re always being sold during the procession, so it seams rude not to have one. However, nothing beats making and enjoying your own home-made toffee… Continue reading Home-made toffee apples
Category: Fruit Trees
Why I love hazelnuts. Or cobnuts?
What is the difference between a cobnut and a filbert? Are they the same thing, with regional variations of nomenclature? Is a filbert the fancier version of a cobnut with a longer husk? And how do they relate to hazelnuts? There must be a kernel of truth in there somewhere… Kent is where you’ll find… Continue reading Why I love hazelnuts. Or cobnuts?
Crab Apple Trees: Year-Round Interest
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
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