A small orchard of apple trees is a poignant reminder of the lives torn apart by war and a new life forged in a foreign land.

70 year old trees, miles from home

During World War II, hundreds of Ukrainian men were forced to join the German Army.  As POW's, some of them were brought to Scotland from Rimini in Italy.

One of the POW's, Mr Fallat, brought with him three matchboxes full of seeds.

He said;

"Where this orchard is, will be home"

The apple trees are being carefully tended by the custodians of the Hallmuir Ukrainian Chapel and are still cropping prolifically today.

The Ukrainian Chapel at Hallmuir, just outside Lockerbie, is a carefully preserved remnant of a 40 strong hut complex, designed to house over 400 Ukrainian POW's, who would never see their home or families again.

Ukrainian_chapel

Italian apples

Italy is Europe's largest producer of apples fruit, and is the third largest in the world after China and the United States.

The European Commission for apples has in fact awarded Italy with three Designations of Protected Origin.

More Information

Heritageandhistory.com - Ukrainian Chapel, Lockerbie

Italtrade.com - The Made in Italy official portal - Italian apples galore.

DPcamps.org - Rimini Displaced Persons Camp

Vegetable gardeners in Wales are being urged to preserve their heirloom varieties and make them more widely available.

The Dyfi Valley Seed Savers in Wales are looking to allotment and garden vegetable growers, to help trace all the home grown Welsh vegetable varieties they can find. They  are especially interested in tomatoes resistant to blight, rocket that is slow to bolt and strong growing winter salads.

Tomato flower

Many varieties have been handed down through the generations and are not available on the open market.  These seeds are invaluable to local growers as they have adapted over the years to the climate and soil of the region.

Funding from a rural development agency has been granted to Dyfi Valley Seed Savers, to trial the vegetables they find at 10 selected sites throughout Powys.

Seeds discovered through the scheme will be redistributed through local seed swaps and also through the Heritage Seed Library run by Garden Organic in Coventry.

If you think you have something they might be interested in, The Dyfi Valley Seed Savers would love to hear from you.

Please get in touch with any information about the vegetable's history, growing, taste and appearance characteristics, or contact them for more information by e.mailing; Claire@dyfivalleyseedsavers.org.uk

More information

Dyfi Valley Seed Savers

Heritage Seed Library

GLASU - Supporting a sustainable future for the people of Powys

The Foxgolve ( Digitalis pupurea) is a native plant of Europe and used to be found growing in many British hedgerows.

Plate Drawing of Digitalis Purpurea by Koehler

Its botanical name means "finger-like" and refers to the easy ability to place an open flower over your finger, just like a thimble.

Tubular flowers are produced along a tall stem and depending of the species, vary from purple to pink, white, and yellow. Of course the best known species in the UK is the Common Foxglove or Digitalis purpurea.

Wild foxgloves are biennial, This means that they take two years to develop from seed to flower. The first year of growth produces a rosette of long basal leaves.

New spring growth on woodland foxgloves

In the second year, the tall stem appears, thrusting the flower buds sometimes as high as 1.5 metres tall.  The delicate pale pink buds open to reveal darker pink to purple flowers with speckled throats.  These flowers surround the top third of the stem.

Foxgloves are loved by Bees and used to grow wild in hedgerows and waste ground in the UK.  They are still to be found but not in such profusion.

Digitalis Purpurea

The entire plant is very poisonous from the roots to the seeds and should never be picked or handled without the correct gloves and knowledge. 

A long history of medicinal use surrounds the Foxglove and they are still used to this day to produce a heart medication called "Digitalin".

Cottage garden designs invariably include foxgloves but instead of the native biennial foxglove which self seed so easily they can become a real weed, there is now a wide range of hybrid varieties including a perennial version which flowers every year.

The Digitalis Camelot Trio from Thompson & Morgan

The Digitalis Camelot trio from Thompson & Morgan is the first ever F1 Hybrid Foxglove.

Grows reliably in our UK gardens and becuase it's and F1 hybrid, it does not self seed and take over the garden.

Worth remembering though, is the fact that Honey and Bumble bees require the native variety for its pollen and nectar.  So if you have room and want to grow foxgloves, make sure you plant some of our native Digitalis Purpurea.

Here you will find a few commercial suppliers of old varieties of fruit, vegetables and flowers.

Edwin Tucker & Sons Ltd, Devon (seeds and seed potatoes) Tel: 01364 652233

Chiltern Seeds - Fresh seeds of around 4,500 species and varieties, many rare and unusual, and including almost 200 brand new items and more than 150 reintroductions for 2010. Tel: +44 (0) 1229 581137

Organic Gardening Catalogue, Surrey (organically grown, sundries, discount for Garden Organic and RHS members)

Thomas Etty, Somerset (heritage seedsman and bulb merchant) Tel: 01460 298249

Walcot Organic Nursery - Growers of well priced, sustainably produced traditional and modern fruit tree varieties.

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