Orchards in Bloom
Caryn Hibbert
A thriving orchard with many special varieties of fruit is a fabulous fresh source of ingredients for any restaurant. Many of us do not realise there are literally thousands of apple varieties available, you could eat a different variety of apple every day for six years. Not so long ago, enticing local varieties for different dishes and uses were passed down from generation to generation with the bride taking bud wood from her family’s orchard to her new home with her. But sadly that has all changed. In recent times - since 1945 a shocking 95% of our orchards have been ripped out and now our supermarkets supply a meager range of predictable varieties often shipped in from far flung places.
Planted in late 2016 and early 2017 our orchards frame the arrival at Thyme. They sit behind estate fencing that separates the orchard form the fields with a thorny edible hedgerow also planted at the same time.
The hedge was planted to shelter the trees from the prevailing winds and contains a selection of trees and shrubs that bear edible berries and fruits to add interest into autumn. Most are also rather thorny in an attempt to deter our sheep from squeezing through the fence line to what always appears to be the greener grass on the opposite side!
Autumn time sees the hedgerow medlar tree branches hang low, heavy with fruit. Rosa rugosa laden with fat orange hips, sea buckthorn smothered with citrus sharp berries, shiny black sloes on the blackthorn and the brightest of red hawthorn berries. We will pick some of these hedgerow delights for the kitchens but leave most for the wildlife to help sustain them through the winter months.
Our orchard trees are now beginning to establish themselves and despite a fiercely dry summer have needed no watering. The gardeners have worked hard to ensure that the grass is cleared from the base of every tree, we are using mats to suppress the grass re growth and mulching heavily to ensure they continue to grow next year.
Harvesting the apples is quite a task. Some are headed to the kitchens destined for preserves and puddings, some sit in bowls for snacking and many are being pressed for juice to serve in the Ox Barn.
