Why I love hazelnuts. Or cobnuts?

What is the difference between a cobnut and a filbert? Are they the same thing, with regional variations of nomenclature? Is a filbert the fancier version of a cobnut with a longer husk? And how do they relate to hazelnuts? There must be a kernel of truth in there somewhere… Kent is where you’ll find… Continue reading Why I love hazelnuts. Or cobnuts?

Heritage Fruit: History in the Garden

Growing and harvesting fruit is one of the great joys of gardening. Nothing quite matches the luxury of eating warm raspberries and blueberries straight from the garden, picking the first rosy Worcester Pearmain  of the season in September, or finding the soft fuzz has rubbed off the quinces in mid-October, revealing shiny yellow pear-shaped fruits… Continue reading Heritage Fruit: History in the Garden

A guide to fruit tree pollination

The science (and sometimes the snake-oil) can run deep when it comes to fruit tree pollination. You could read endless books and research studies on how to optimise your orchard with a diversity of cross-pollinators to achieve a bumper crop. For most growers, it’s actually pretty straightforward to get the right results. This guide should… Continue reading A guide to fruit tree pollination

When to clip, trim & prune hedges?

Winter and Summer Winter is generally the best time to prune woody subjects and it certainly is the best time to trim the hedge plants you have just planted. Hedges must be clipped and sometimes pruned. Fruit trees need some pruning to maintain the best crops. Older ornamental trees can need pruning if they are damaged or… Continue reading When to clip, trim & prune hedges?

Fruit Trees at Altitude

We get hundreds of enquiries a year about growing fruit trees in the UK at altitude and our answers usually start off with something like: “Unfortunately, your location sounds beautiful but (from the perspective of fruit trees) terrible. Your site is high up and almost certainly windy given that you are south facing and prevailing… Continue reading Fruit Trees at Altitude

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