The Orchard

The vegetable garden leads into what we pretentiously call the orchard. Two cordon pear trees frame the entrance, where we grow a 'family' pear tree, two 'family' apple trees and my current favourite apple tree, a 'Pitmaston pineapple'! 

It is far removed from the romantic image a traditional orchard conjures up. Standard trees, tall and bountiful of blossom in spring and fruit in autumn. Lazy summer afternoons spent napping under the grateful shade cast by the trees' canopies. For many centuries, the words 'garden' and 'orchard' were interchangeable. The Saxon 'ort yerd', from the Latin hortus simply means 'plant yard', or garden, and right up to Elizabethan times a garden might be an orchard and vice versa. In which case, this entire garden, with its many plants and fruit trees, is an orchard. 

Few gardens (and commercial orchards) can and do accommodate such specimens but believe me if we could we would. Luckily, there are plenty of options if you fancy growing 'top fruit', as it's rather plainly classed as. Dwarfing rootstock M9 and M27 for apples means even the smallest gardens can accommodate a fruit tree. 

Rootstock: 

A fruit tree is effectively two trees grafted together. The rootstock controls the growth of the tree, and the scion, which is the variety of the fruit. Look at the base of any fruit tree and you will see a knobby area which is the graft union. 

Family trees: 

These are fruit trees with three different varieties grafted into one rootstock (usually MM106). We have found that these can produce rather lopsided trees, with the more vigorous varieties producing faster growth. But they are well worth a go as one tree could meet all your apple needs. I generally advocate growing the varieties that you best enjoy eating, but sometimes this isn't possible with fruit, especially if your favourite apple comes from New Zealand or U.S.A. 

The fact is this country has a wealth of apple and pear varieties, many of which are hard to find in shops and supermarkets: Lord Lambourne, Egremont Russet, Blenheim Orange, Pitmaston Pineapple - the list is endless. 

Go for a variety that is local to you, then you are almost guaranteed success. Any good nursery will give you sound advice. 

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