Bertie's Cottage

The biodynamic lunar calendar recommends working with flowering plants this weekend, but we prioritised harvesting, as Jim and the children were around to give me a hand. A nine-year-old specimen of rosy crabapple ‘Dartmouth’ now produces so much fruit that removing two basketfuls has hardly affected the beauty of its display. One of the highlights of the autumn garden, (and the spring too, with its glorious blossom), I can’t think of a more attractive small tree for any garden.

However, I particularly like planting apples here as the entire valley used to be orchard. Bertie’s Cottage, converted only twenty-five years ago, was originally a barn with a cider press at its heart. The last two cider apple trees in the valley are in our field, and still fruit well – much appreciated by free-ranging pigs, geese and chickens (and yes, one day we do hope to make our own cider).