Holstein was a rich golden-green, with a lovely balance of acidity and sweet fruit and the trees were laden down. Barnack Orange too had this astringent freshness. Ingrid Marie awaits the taste test. In fact, the harvest appears to be rather splendid - the orchards go on for row upon row into the far distance…
Fruit Trees
Waterperry Gardens – a gnome and a rather fabulous Family Apple Tree…
There are five acres of orchards at Waterperry, dating back to Miss Havergal's School of Horticulture, holding a collection of more than 60 different varieties of apple, including more unusual types like Ashmead's Kernel, Orleans Reinette and Kidd's Orange, as well as old favourites like Egremont Russet. Plums and pears are also here - Marjorie's…
Continue reading ➞ Waterperry Gardens – a gnome and a rather fabulous Family Apple Tree…
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Damson Merryweather
OK, I have rotated the picture round from landscape to portrait, but I like the effect! Damson Merryweather blossom Merryweather is one of the most widely-planted and hardy damsons. The fruit is large by damson standards and Merryweather is in some ways more like a small plum. The fruit can be eaten fresh if left…
Continue reading ➞ Damson Merryweather
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Mellow Yellow (part 2)
Amber, citrine, primrose, sunshine, canary, gold, lemon, tawny, aureate, lutescent, xanthic, chrysal, honey, aurulent... A ripe collection of just a few yellow and golden-fruited shrubs and trees - they have all featured in other entries in the last couple of months - but I thought it would be cool to bring a few of the…
Continue reading ➞ Mellow Yellow (part 2)
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Malus transitoria – crab apple delights
Malus transitoria, the cut-leaved crab apple (photographed at RHS Wisley earlier this week) Crab apples are often excellent small trees for the garden, with late spring blossom to rival many of the Japanese Cherries, persistent fruit (attractive but only barely edible in the strictest sense). The blossom can be exceedingly fragrant and runs the gamut…
Continue reading ➞ Malus transitoria – crab apple delights
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Boxing Day Greetings
Boxing Day and a brief hush before the next round of hospitality. The apples in the foreground, small brightly-red baubles, are Cocket's Red - windfalls from the orchards at RHS Wisley collected on Christmas Eve. Fragrant, crisp, lilac-scented fruits only a tad larger than a golf ball and rich ruby-red. The two named trees at…
Continue reading ➞ Boxing Day Greetings
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Christmas Eve at RHS Wisley
Bright stems of dogwood, willow and ornamental blackberry by the lake in the RHS Gardens at Wisley There was a little doubt whether these gardens would be open today after the storms over night - many gardens have been forced to close today - but hard work on the part of the garden team made…
Continue reading ➞ Christmas Eve at RHS Wisley
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Winter Banana
An apple variety curiously called Winter Banana Hailing from Indiana, USA and introduced in the 1870s - an large sweet apple, with alleged banana flavour (that was distinctly missing from the example I scrumped!) A creamy yellow, pink flushed skin might contribute a little to its naming, perhaps - late ripening, a touch of frost…
Continue reading ➞ Winter Banana
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All you ever wanted to know about rootstocks: Hounslow Wonder and other apples (reprise)
Another outing for this article, originally posted in August, but even more timely now... Locally, the RHS Taste of Autumn Show is on at Wisley from the 16th to 20th October - for more information, follow the link - http://www.rhs.org.uk/Gardens/Wisley/What-s-on/Taste-of-Autumn An apple a day... 'Tis the season, almost, of mellow fruitfulness and home-grown fruit has…
The Teddington Gardener 