Apple – Golden Spire

The Golden Spire apple was reported to have been discovered in 1850 by Richard Smith of Worcester.

Fruits have a dense, crisp flesh with an acidic, astringent flavour.

Uses: Culinary
Parents: Unknown
Flowers: Late April to Early May
Picking: Early September
Natural Storage: September - October

The Golden Spire apple can be found growing in the orchards of Acorn Bank House, Temple Sowerby, Cumbria.

Apple – Edward VII

The first record of the Edward VII apple was in 1902.  Introduced by Rowe of Worcester in 1908.

The apple received the RHS Award of Merit in 1903.

Fruits have a firm, rather coarse texture, fairly juicy, with an acid flavour.

Reported to be an excellent cooking apple.

Uses: Culinary
Parents: Female -Blenheim Orange?  x Male - Golden Noble?
Flowers: Mid to late May
Picking: Mid October
Natural Storage: December to April

The Edward VII apple can be found growing in the orchards of Acorn Bank House, Temple Sowerby, Cumbria.

Apple – Lancashire Pippin

The Lancashire Pippin was received by the national fruit trials in 1950, from Westmorland in Northern England.

Fruits have soft, slightly course flesh with a subacid flavour. Reportedly, this flavour becomes very bland when cooked.

Uses: Culinary
Parents: Unknown
Flowers: Mid to late May
Picking: Mid September
Natural Storage: October

The Lancashire Pippin apple can be found growing in the orchards of Acorn Bank House, Temple Sowerby, Cumbria.

Common Medlar

The medlar is an ancient fruit native to Iran and there are records of it's cultivation since the 2nd Century BC, being grown by ancient Greeks and Romans.

Medlar fruit was very popular during the Victorian era. The large shrubs or small trees growing up to 8 m tall is deciduous. The dark green, elliptical leaves are about six to fifteen centimetres long and three to four centimetres wide. They turn a spectacular red in autumn before falling.

The five-petalled white flowers are produced in late spring, they are hermaphrodite and pollinated by bees.

The matte brown fruit is a pome, two to three centimetres in diameter, with wide-spreading persistent sepals giving a "hollow" appearance. It's popular slang name is "Dog's Bottom".

Medlar fruit are very hard and acidic, only becoming edible after being bletted (softened by frost), or naturally in storage given sufficient time. Once softening begins, the skin rapidly takes a wrinkled texture and turns dark brown, and the inside reduces to a consistency and flavour reminiscent of apple sauce. They can then be eaten raw, often consumed with cheese as a dessert, although they are also used to make medlar jelly and wine. Another dish is "medlar cheese", which is similar to lemon curd, being made with the fruit pulp, eggs, and butter.

Acorn Bank at Temple Sowerby in Cumbria is home to two very large Medlar trees.

Medlar recipes on the Garden Organic website.
Medlar Cheese recipe.
Growing and Pruning Medlars - Advice from the Royal Horticultural Society

Apple Day in Cumbria 2009

Counties all over the UK are preparing for their Apple Day events to be held throughout the month of October.

Britain has the largest apple heritage in the world, with only a handful of the varieties seen for sale today. Old varieties do exist all over the country with many special National Apple Day events taking place each year to promote these wonderful fruits.

The annual festival is aimed at raising awareness about the importance of preserving traditional apple varieties,

The 2009 Apple Day events in Cumbria will be held on:

28th September - 1st october 2009 - Sizergh Castle & Garden, Kendal, Cumbria.
Guided walks and apple identification. Juicing and tasting. (Identification of apples on Tuesday and Thursday).
Recipe cards and advice available.
Visit Sizergh Castle & Gardens website

Sunday 3rd October 2009 - Wordsworth House, Cockermouth, Cumbria.
Taste some of Cumbria's heritage apples such as the Keswick Codlin, Greenup Pippin and Carlisle Codlin.
Lots of apple games, baking and juicing demonstrations, fun and competitions.
Visit the Wordsworth House website.

Saturday 3rd October - Orchard Barn, 32 Briery Bank, Arnside.
Orchard walks, apple identification, cakes and jams, cookery demonstrations, story-telling, children’s games and much more. 10am - 4pm Organised by the Arnside and Silverdale AONB Partnership

Saturday October 17 &  Sunday 18th - Beetham Nurseries,  Pool Darkin Lane, Beetham CLA7 7AP
Meet Hilary Wilson ‘The Apple Lady’ on Saturday 17th October. Hilary’s  interest in apples, which began when she was a child, led her to research and source varieties suitable for the wet and cold conditions in this area, she is also an expert in the skill of grafting.
Hilary will be on hand to chat and answer your questions. She enjoys helping people to identify their apples.
Attractions to include: Wide selection of apple trees including some unusual varieties;  Enjoy apple tasting and delicious home made ‘fruity food’ in the Tea Room.
Expert advice on pollination, pruning, pests and diseases & tree selection; we will have many other types of fruit trees including: Peaches, Pears, Plums, Kiwis and Cherries. And on Sunday 18th October the Kendal Beekeepers’ Association will be present. They will bring along a glass observation hive with real bees, information on attracting bees into your garden, and a beehive containing photographs so people can see inside ‘safely’, and perhaps even honey to sell.
Visit Beetham Nurseries website.

Sunday 18th October 2009 - Acorn Bank, Temple Sowerby, Penrith, Cumbria.
Games and competitions, advice on growing apples, storytelling, Punch & Judy, Music, dance and pruning demonstrations with the Northern Fruit group, cookery demonstrations with Annette Gibbons. There will be a local food producers' market and country crafts.

Entertainment from Punch and Judy, Crook Morris, The Eden Valley Storytellers and The Eagle Bowmen.
A large number of different varieties of apple are available to buy and to sample, and you are welcome to bring your own apples to be identified (by prior arrangement).
Visit Acorn Bank website.

To find out about Apple Day events all over the country visit The Common ground website.

Perry Pear – Blakeney Red

The Blakeney Red Perry Pear is named after the village of Blakeney in the Forest of Dean.  Also known as Red Pear, Circus Pear, Painted Lady, Painted Pear .

Known to have been in existence in 1600, some trees are over 300 years old and it is now the most common perry pear in the Gloucestershire and Herefordshire region.

The Blakeney Red is a greenish yellow perry pear with a red flush on the sunny side, an old favourite which was even considered a desert pear in the 1600's. which could also be stewed and used to dye soldiers' khaki uniforms.

This popular pear is renowned for perry making and is considered one of the best single perry varieties.

Many Cider companies still rely on this pear to produce quality cider.

A statuesque specimen can be found in the Acorn Bank Orchards at Temple Sowerby, Cumbria.

This tree towers above it's neighbouring Medlar's to some 40 or 50 feet.

A well shaped tree, the fruit glows red on the sunniest side and hangs in abundance, crammed onto the upward facing branches.

To find out more about Perry pears and Perry making visit the Three Counties Perry website.

You can find young trees at Cummins Nursery.

Apple – Charles Ross

The Apple Charles Ross was raised by it's namesake, a gardener at Welford Park Gardens, Newbury, Berkshire.

First exhibited in 1890 as Thomas Andrew Knight ( Then President of the Royal Horticultural Society) but renamed Charles Ross at the request of his employer, Captain Carstairs in 1899.

The apple won the RHS Award of merit and a first class certificate in 1899.

Fruits are rather course in texture, juicy and sweet with a moderate flavour.  The skin bears an orange / red flush.

Easy to grow and scab resistant, this apple bakes well and is a valued garden apple.

Uses: Dual purpose (mainly desert)
Parents: Female - Peasgood Nonsuch x Male - Cox's Orange Pippin
Flowers: Mid May
Picking: Mid September
Natural Storage: October to December.

The Apple Charles Ross can be found growing in the orchards of Acorn Bank House, Temple Sowerby, Cumbria.

Apple – Norfolk Beefing

The Norfolk Beefing or Norfolk Biffin apple was raised in Norfolk, England and first recorded in 1807.

Fruits are very firm, round and slightly flat, about 5cms across and about 4 cms  high with a course, juicy texture. The skin is yellow-green, but with brown-purple and dark red streaks.

Inside, the crisp flesh has a green tint, acidic with a hint of cinnamon.

The apples store well, getting sweeter with keeping, and are even sweet enough to use as desert apples by March the following year. A good cooking and drying apple.

With keeping, they turn a deeper brown or maroon colour, with harder, more solid flesh.

These apples were popular with Norwich bakers and were sent to London fruiterers as a delicacy. They were also used for cider making

It is best cooked whole in a very slow (bread) oven for over 4 - 5 hours.

Uses: Culinary
Parents: Unknown
Flowers: Mid May
Picking: Mid October
Natural Storage: December - April

Where to find the Norfolk Beefing apple: Acorn Bank, Temple Sowerby, Cumbria.

Are Your Bluebells Native?

A few woodland areas in the UK will soon be carpeted in blue from the end of April to Mid May.

Our native British Bluebell is considered an endangered species and as such cannot be picked or uprooted from the wild.  Even the seed cannot be gathered without the consent of Natural England.

The Natural History Museum state:

"In recent years there has been growing concern that our native species is under threat by breeding with the cultivated bluebell. Hybridisation can alter a plant species’ genetic makeup and may result in a reduced ability to survive.

Until recently, this popular theory has been supported by little evidence, and the true status of bluebells in the UK and Ireland may be more complex.  Further study is needed to find out if the native bluebell is really under threat."

You can help take part in this study by logging onto to Natural History Museum Website and recording your bluebell findings.

An article in the April issue of Country Living magazine focuses on a couple who have become two of the first people in England to be granted permission to gather bluebell seeds from their farm woodland in Kent.  Barry and Karin of Farnell Farm carefully collect, preserve and sell their bluebell seed so that others can enjoy the beauty of this beautiful flower.

Thanks to their hard work and that of others, it is now easier to raise your own native bluebells from seed.

Places to see Bluebell woods:

• Muncaster Castle, Cumbria.
• High Hall Nurseries, Westward, nr Wigton, Cumbria.
• Arlington Bluebell walk and farm trail. East Sussex.
• Rode Hall. Cheshire
• Bluebell Woods in the Chilterns.

You may also be interested in:

BBC article and video
Offwell Woodland & Wildlife Trust. Feature and picture gallery.
Central Scotland Forest Trust. Atricle about bluebells under threat

To grow your own native British Bluebells, bulbs and seed can be obtained from the following suppliers;

Farnell Farm - Native Bluebell seeds for your garden or woodland. Ideal for cultivating large areas.
The Wild Flower Shop - Specialists in naive British plants.
Nicky's Nursery - Native British Bluebell wild flower seeds.