For Apple Day: Eat your way to the river
It's Apple Day, one of my favourite days of the year and what better way to celebrate than to tell you about my recent trip to Longney, where Gloucestershire Orchard Trust have 18 acres of apple orchard under their tender care. Here you'll find older orchards with some trees well over a century old, plus their newer plantings of around 94 Gloucestershire cultivars which have just acquired national plant collection status at Plant Heritage . The jury's out on the actual number as DNA testing has revealed at least one locally named variety is actually a more well known one: Ribston Pippin in this case. Don't worry, there are dozens there which definitely have their origins rooted firmly in Gloucestershire and their cultivation at Longney is vital to their continued presence and preservation. There were around 200 local varieties at one time and today it's around 100 still in existence. Steve Mason - the Trust's Curator - was our knowledgeable guide who invited ...
Wow, what a stunning picture. I can really feel the autumn sunshine. It looks like a really lovely place - I think I could spend a few happy hours wandering around there.
ReplyDeleteHi CJ - wow indeed :) I visited Holt Farm two weeks in a row. The first was in the rain and there was still plenty of interest even then. I met a couple from Devon who open their garden to the public and were frantically taking photos. They agreed that a garden with plenty of interest in the rain is a rarity and should be treasured.
DeleteGorgeous photo!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteGreat photo VP on what looks like a glorious autumn day. Is the lake part of the property?
ReplyDeleteYes and no, Anna. The lake belongs to Bristol Water and it's Holt Farm (with all its happy Yeo Valley cows) itself rather than the garden which goes down to the lake. However, there are some events at the garden which include trout fishing on the lake and the garden team like to make use of the surrounding landscape as part of the garden.
DeleteIsn't that just lovely! I love how there's still so much to see at the moment - perennials having a last moment of glory before winter dieback and grasses slowly fading into their winter colours. Just glorious!
ReplyDeleteI'm really surprised at how green lots of the trees were last week Caro. I'm sure that's changing though...
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