Orchards, Fruit Trees & Kitchen Gardens

Year

1998 - present

Location

Gloucestershire, Somerset, Monmouthshire, Cotswolds, Wye Valley

Category

Kitchen Gardening, Orchards, Vegetables & Fruit

Creative Director

Gareth Edwards

Orchards, Walled Gardens & Pruning Fruit Trees

The winter solstice is only a few weeks away and there are still leaves on trees. Our winter pruning of apples and pears will only properly get going once the trees have settled into their winter dormancy.

As much as I enjoy our ‘core’ garden services, the aesthetics, design and maintenance of weeding herbaceous borders, trimming hedges, mowing lawns, I am particularly enthusiastic about productive gardening; growing fruit and vegetables in a sustainable and organic way. We look after traditional orchards, with mature standard apples, pears, plums and formally trained fruit trees; espaliers, fans, cordons. Each requiring their particular pruning & training techniques.

 

Pruned pear tree in a walled garden
Pruned pear tree in a walled garden

Late summer pruning of fruit trees.

RHS advice: Espaliers & Apples & pears winter pruning

Kitchen Gardens

Bringing design, aesthetics and function together is what I enjoy the most, a geometric arrangement of turnips or a decorative combination of Kale and Marigold. A Potager, or ornamental kitchen garden is the ideal, the reality more often being furiously picking voracious caterpillars off this years crop of kale, cabbage & chard.

Kitchen Gardens

Although licesnsed to use herbicides, I do so rarely (principally glyphosate on hard surfaces) and certainly not around growing fruit and veg. I am committed to using organic gardening methods and integrated pest management techniques.

Wildlife in a Traditional Orchard

The focus of our orchard and tree management isn’t always solely on an abundance of quality fruit. Traditional orchards are fantastic places for wildlife and are often a refuge within an intensively farmed wider landscape. We balance good fruit management with an element of ‘wildness’ that encourages a rich diversity of wildlife. Traditional orchards are an important Priority Habitat and there’s a lot of great info on the Peoples Trust for Endangered Species website.

Managing gardens for wildlife.