Flutterby Patch

Apple picking time

The ‘Discovery’ apple in our small orchard is ready for picking. It has gone from blossom to fruit in just 14 weeks which seems quite amazing. It’s sweet and juicy and never lets us down. With its bright rosy red cheeks it’s a real ‘kids painting’ sort of apple. Scrumptious!

 

I always use my grandad's fruit picking basket which must be over 80 years old by now but is still as strong as the day it was made. Happily English apples are back in fashion and being taken seriously again by growers. With its mouth watering illustrations, Rosanne Sanders' book 'The English Apple' not only captures the character of 122 varieties but gives the reader many factual details as well.

Can't you just smell the scent of gathered apples when you read this verse taken from the poem 'After Trinity' by John Meade Falkner? You can read the full poem in my 'Favourite Poems and Wise Words'

When still the cloudlet dapples
The windless cobalt blue,
And the scent of gathered apples
Fills all the store-rooms through,
The gossamer silvers the bramble,
The lawns are gemmed with dew.

Pesky rabbits

I’ve given up trying to keep these furry fiends out of the garden and they continue to nosh their way through any plants that take their fancy. This little scamp was photographed through our window (hence the mist!) “Do us a big favour, eat those bramble leaves!” No such luck, a carefully nurtured azalea looked much tastier. Can’t you just see him wearing a little blue jacket with Mr McGregor hot on his tail?

Our patch in the wood

I live in England's north west corner. Our lovely patch of ground is surrounded by trees and birdsong. Bees can be heard buzzing as they work their way through the blossom in our apple trees. During May the nearby wood is carpeted with bluebells, their delicate scent filling the air.

We have a traditional stone built house with walls 2ft thick, warm in winter and cool in summer but annoyingly almost impossible to hammer nails into (outside for plant support and inside for hanging pictures).  The family have lived here comfortably for 22 years and the house has grown around us.