Down on the Allotment

Matron grows vegetables and fruit in a Hampshire garden. I've been growing veggies since I was knee high to a grasshopper. Some traditional varieties and old favourites as well as new ideas. I share my garden with my allotment assistant Daisy the Labrador. On Twitter as @MatronsVeggies

Friday, August 24, 2012

Fecundity

 A trip to the fruit orchard at RHS Wisley is one of my favourite places to be in the world. Unusual and forgotten varieties of fruit that take your breath away. Just look at these small pears! Fantastic.
 Or how about a giant, red crab apple? Many different crab apple varieties are often planted at the end of a row of trees in an orchard because they help with pollination of the eating apples in Spring.
 Many of these apples were just so fruitful, so fecund, so heavily laden with fruit it was incredible. I am beginning to think now that my poor crop of Bramley apples was probably due to very wet, rainy weather just at the time when the blossoms were out and there were no bees to pollinate them.
 They even have a cheese flavoured apple at RHS Wisley (stand by for this one on April 1st!) ;-)
 An interesting corner of the orchard was a completely organic, no spray section where rows of wild flowers were planted in between the rows of trees in order to encourage beneficial insects which eat the pests.
Hundreds of varieties of apples that you could not imagine! Spectacular!

5 Comments:

At 2:38 AM, Blogger VirginiaC said...

So what did you buy? I can't imagine that nothing went home with you...I just KNOW you bought something.

 
At 5:09 AM, Blogger Matron said...

Scrumping! SSshhhhhh!

 
At 8:11 AM, Blogger Kelli said...

Very inspiring!

 
At 6:18 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sounds a fantastic place Matron

 
At 8:40 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Can you please tell me what variety is your crab apple? The one with dark, oblong fruit. I would love to purchase one for my garden but can't find the name anywhere.

 

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