Amateur Gardening Magazine

29 April 2014

THE DWARF plum trees I planted as a pair in the back garden recently came into flower, and one, called ‘Bluetit St Julien’, looks wonderful (pictured). I’ve been aware of the value of fruit trees as ornamental plants since my ‘Kent’ apple tree reached maturity, bringing a wall of pink spring blossom to that corner of the garden (pictured). But my reliance on fruit has really come home to me this spring, as a pair of blueberries I’ve raised in pots came into flower. The blossom looks like pieris, then I’ll get the delicious fruits in summer, and fiery leaf colour in the autumn. There are two more apple trees planted in the front garden for their blossom (and the fact that I’ll be able to make cider from the fruit). Then there’s the grape vine I’m training along the back garden fence, not for its flowers but for the great looking fruits and autumn leaf colour. Nearby is a wall trained fig – short on blossom but big on foliage and with heavenly fruit. Slight problem though. The plums are planted right where I want to build a new patio. I moved one into a pot in the winter, but the other still has it’s roots in the soil. Can I bear to dig it out? Have a great gardening week. Tim Rumball Editor