Mellow fruitfulness

Growing your own fruit is achievable whatever the size of your garden, producing a harvest of delicious wholesome tastes

- Leigh Clapp

While many of us lack the space for an orchard, that doesn’t mean foregoing the considerable pleasure of growing fruit.

There are many space-saving techniques to use to add some fruit to a smaller garden: you can espalier on fences, grow in containers, or plant a few fruit trees amongst ornamental plants. Many fruit trees, shrubs and vines are also highly attractive, can be trained in the smallest of spaces while still highly productive, and work well with any garden design. Five fruit trees is the accepted minimum to qualify as an orchard, but this can even be achieved in a small space with a bit of ingenuity. Training fruit against a wall or barrier restricts the size, creating shapes such as fans, cordons, goblets, espaliers, pyramids, step-overs and goblets. As with all gardening, it’s important to select fruiting varieties that are appropriate for your soil and conditions. Ensure you plant according to their requirements for sun, shade and drainage, look after their needs for water, feeding and mulching, accept that some fruit may be imperfect or fall prey to birds and insects, and in a few years you will be reaping the reward of a fresh organic harvest.