Just a few days of rain and warmer temperatures have made a real difference to our gardens. The fruit trees are in bloom and it’s not just us who are impressed with the blossom. As usual the bees hone in on the flowers to collect pollen and today I’ve noticed ladybirds hunting for aphids.

Apple trees have beautiful blossom. This one is Bramley’s Seedling. It has deep pink buds which open into shell pink flowers fading to white. Apple blossom doesn’t last long – two or three weeks if you are lucky… but you can always grow a Clematis through a mature tree to extend the flowering period.

Apples are the easiest fruit to grow.
Just decide whether you’d like:
1) Dessert apples for eating straight from the tree
or
2) Culinary apples for baking.

Choose the variety you prefer by taste. You may already know the name of the apples you like. If not then it will probably be worth your while testing a few different sorts. There are apple tasting days every autumn (usually October) at many large gardens so you can easily find your favourite fruit.   Then buy a tree or two and plant in a sunny spot in your garden. That’s it. Easy.

Gillian 😉