By the Dart • Garden Design Garden design by Colette Charsley


Getting Fruity E


veryone, it seems, is now growing vegetables. However, it puzzles me


that fruit growing is often ignored. This may be because fruit is seen as a longer-term investment in terms of time or that people assume that you need a full-scale orchard to make it worthwhile.


Neither supposition is actually correct.


Everyone can grow fruit in some shape or form. as an example, alpine strawberries are


tiny, delicious and can be easily grown in a pot, at the front of a border or near seating areas where nibbling should be encouraged. Most fruit varieties can also be grown in pots. Growth will be restricted but this will stimulate fruit. For something such as figs, this is particularly useful, as a full size plant can reach over 5m high. As our climate changes, it is now possible to


grow tender varieties which would not have occurred to us in the past. All you need is a sheltered south-facing wall and you can have fresh lemons, apricots, nectarines or peaches from your own trees. Fruit trees come in a myriad of shapes and more importantly, sizes and they can be used decoratively in the overall design of your garden and do not need to be restricted to the orchard or vegetable plot. Most fruit trees are grafted onto a rootstock and this will determine the eventual size of the plant. With apples, the smallest is M27. This means that your tree will only ever reach about 2 m high.


Everyone


can grow fruit in some shape or form.


The beautiful spring blossom on fruit


trees needs to be pollinated. Some trees are self-fertilising but others will need another variety nearby in either the same or an adjacent pollination group. You do need to check this. There are many different ways to incorporate


fruit into the garden. You can have an edible arbour and use thornless blackberries, dessert grapes or kiwi fruit. Peaches, apricots, apples, pears or cherries can be wall grown in either fan shapes or espaliers. Tiny espaliers, about 30 cm high, can be grown as ‘stepovers’ and used to form the edges of ornamental beds in much the same way as you might use box. Cordons are best for really small spaces. They are basically trained into one single stem and planted at an angle of 45 degrees Once you start looking at the hundreds


of wonderful types and varieties of fruit available you will wonder how you ever managed to do without your own supply.


colette@charsleydesign.com www.charsleydesign.com t: 01803 722449 m: 07774 827799 Follow me on Twitter @ColetteCharsley


Professional Landscape and Garden Design


Creative and beautiful designs for village, town and country gardens


Colette Charsley PG Dip OCGD 01803 722449 07774 827799


colette@charsleydesign.com www.charsleydesign.com


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