Pears for your heirs

 The overwhelming element in the garden at the moment is blossom. The green sward is littered in the confetti-like remnants of pear blossom, only to be replaced by the dusky pinky white of apple blossom. 

The pear blossom has been particularly good this year. A combination of a cooler winter, so the trees get a chance to rest, and dry calm weather just at the time the trees came into bloom. 

Pears can be a trickier prospect than apples. They take a longer time to come into fruit. 

Pears cannot be picked and eaten straight from the tree. They need to be kept on a sunny windowsill and inspected regularly. But they are worth the wait - a perfectly ripe pear is one of the treats of the summer. 

We grow several varieties in this garden, mainly on upright cordons. This allows us the luxury of different varieties in a relatively small space. It also helps with the ease of picking. 

The varieties we grow are 'Conference', 'Concorde', 'Golden Amber' and 'Williams' Bon Chretien'. The fruit we cannot eat, we poach in perry, honey and vanilla and store in kilner jars to eat over the winter. 

'Plant pears for your heirs' was often the advice given to anyone thinking of planting a pear tree. This was due to the trees, when grown on their own rootstock could take a generation to come into fruit. Nowadays, pears are grown on either Quince A, or Quince C rootstock. 

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