This autumn we planted four heritage apple trees in the sensory garden: two Cornish Aromatic and two Ben’s Red, both long-established Cornish varieties.
Each tree has been grafted onto a dwarfing rootstock, which keeps it small and manageable. That matters in our small garden. Rather than growing freestanding trees, we’ll train these along the low fence and existing structures in the garden. The finished shape will sit somewhere between a step-over (a single low horizontal branch) and an espalier (branches trained in tiers against a support). The result should be productive trees that fit the scale of the garden and stay within easy reach.
The trees came from Kehellend Trust, just outside Redruth. Kehellend provides a rural, horticultural setting where young people and adults with learning and physical disabilities can build skills, take up new opportunities and take an active part in their local community. It felt right to source our trees from somewhere with such a strong educational and community focus. Eleanor Turnbull, who looks after the sensory garden, also recently completed a one-day grafting course with the Trust.
Planting day was a team effort. Many thanks to our volunteers Jonty and Sue, who helped get the trees in the ground.
Over the next couple of years we’ll carry out formative pruning and training to establish their shape. By then, we hope to be picking our first apples.
