Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness
- Jilly McNaughton
- Sep 16
- 2 min read
It's that time of year again; it's distinctly colder indoors than outdoors and (in a bid to dodge the showers) the washing on the line comes in and out more often than the sunshine. The rains have come, the gardens are once again green and, to our great relief, the droughts of summer are a thing of the past. For now.
At Bridge End Garden the espaliers in the Walled Garden are hanging heavy with fruit - testament to an especially blossom-filled spring.
A recent project undertaken by The Friends brought to my attention just how many different cultivars of apple, pear and plum trees we enjoy at The Garden as well as a wide variety of other fruits. All lovingly tended by Nathan and his team, the impressive list (of 60 varieties and counting!) has been compiled into a delightful leaflet showing a plan of where each specimen is located. It was illustrated by Friends volunteer Barbara Wells, a retired graphic designer and is available to download as a PDF below:
My personal favourite is the St Edmunds Russet (also know as the St Edmunds Pippin) a Victorian dessert apple with exceptionally rich flavour. Russet varieties are often very good varieties for the garden and, according to one grower I found, 'The trees generally grow in a neat fashion, have very good disease resistance and tolerate a wide range of growing situations". The Royal Horticultural Society, which gave the St Edmunds Russet an Award of Garden Merit, says its height will depend on the rootstock and training method but it is suitable for all training forms.
I hope to buy one for my own garden - if I can find a gap between showers to plant it before Winter!
