Article added on 11 September 2009

"Growing our own" has never been more popular, with fruiting plants offering a mouth-watering cornucopia of pears, peaches, figs and nectarines for a sunny wall; or desert apples, cherries, mulberries and damsons for slight shade.

 

Needlessly regarded as difficult, fruit is often left cautiously "to the experts"; but in reality, it's no more challenging to look after than many attractive ornamentals; often requiring similar pruning, training and feeding to bush roses and clematis.

 

"Top fruit" (trees), "soft" and "cane" fruit (bushes), and "vine" fruit (grapes or climbers) are woody-stemmed survivors, cropping happily, year-after-year once established, with flavours that surpass anything bought in the shops.

 

For fruit to succeed, choosing the right aspect and taking advantage of the different microclimates within the garden, is crucial for a bountiful harvest.  With some parts of the garden receiving more sun than others and certain fruit species, needing more warmth and shelter to crop well; it's possible to work out the most favourable places within your garden, and plant accordingly, growing the fruit of your choice from the very start.

 

Make the most of boundary walls and fences, existing mature trees and nearby buildings, to provide shelter - even relatively small gardens experience different microclimates within their four-walls.  Knowing which way your garden faces is key, with southern parts receiving most of the sun; the East, the cooler morning light, and the West soaking up the last rays of the day.  Even the cold and shady North can benefit from bright, but indirect light and often a little sun in winter.

 

For a warm southerly aspect, go for tender species that are unlikely to thrive elsewhere.  Apricots, figs, kiwi fruit, peaches and grapes; even citrus and olives love to take advantage of sunshine for most of the day.  A patio or decking area close to the house may benefit from "radiant heat" (releasing stored energy from sunshine) - and generating ambient warmth throughout the night.  Offering an ideal area for growing more tender fruit and those needing a longer ripening season; apricots, figs and peaches relish the warmest parts of the garden.

 

Take advantage of dwarfing rootstock to grow "miniature" varieties in large pots, perhaps underplanted with soft fruit such as strawberries; and a pergola draped with grapes, planted through a hole in the deck or paving, into a well-prepared bed in the ground.

 

The cooler East only receives sun in the morning and is largely in shade for the rest of the day.  Blackberries, raspberries, tayberries and boysenberries all crop well here, along with blueberries on acid soil; dessert and cooking apples, medlars, currants and plums.

 

As the second most favourable spot in the garden, the West is ideal for fruit.  A pale-coloured wall reflects light back at the ripening crop, with wall-trained versions of familiar favourites offering the distinct advantage of taking up even less space.  (Look out for space-saving fan-trained, espalier and cordon varieties.)  Even in the lawn, attractive specimen black mulberries, pears, plums and sweet cherries produce fruits that taste just as fine as they look.

 

Often thought of as cold, dark and dank, a gloomy northern aspect can still produce a respectable crop from the most shade tolerant varieties.  Sour morello cherries (add plenty of sugar when stewing), cooking apples, hardy gooseberries and resilient rhubarb (strictly speaking a vegetable), are well-worth trying.

 

Early fruiting varieties here too are a boon, and although North-aspect fruit may not taste as sweet as sunnier crops - (sugar levels in fruit is directly related to the amount of sun they receive); and the yield may not be quite as high - they can still offer a worthwhile harvest, of delicious, sharper-tasting, fruits and berries.

                       

"Growing our own" offers a mouth-watering array of tempting varieties, far beyond the limited supermarket brands - and just as with home-grown vegetables, "the fresher the crop - the better the taste!"  So stand convinced; every garden border around the compass can accommodate at least few trees or a couple of bushes, in pots or the open ground, for a deliciously productive summer harvest and many fruitful years to come.

 

From the Garden Gate

 

Though rootstocks are considered the "greatest revolution in home fruit growing", there is often so much confusion surrounding their selection and individual benefits, as to can make the casual shopper feel bemused.

 

• In simple terms, "rootstocks" restrict the ultimate size of the varieties grafted onto them and encourage cropping from an early age.  In effect, this allows gardeners to squeeze more trees into a smaller space and makes them easier and quicker to prune, protect from birds, bad weather and hungry wildlife.

 

• In reality, when gardening on poor soil, you many need a little extra "oomph!" so choose a slightly more vigorous rootstock, than the tree you wish to produce. (The poor cultural environment will do the rest, limiting the ultimate height.)

 

• Divided into "most dwarfing", "dwarfing", "semi-dwarfing" and "semi-vigorous" across the spectrum of apples, plums and pears; individual code numbers and names for each  variety are unique and well-worth investigating, prior to purchase, to satisfy your cultural requirements and tastes.