Apple Trees (malus x domestica)

We couldn't have a section on trees at Scotswood Garden without the humble apple! We love our apple trees - the blossom in the spring, the growing fruits through the summer, and the harvesting in the autumn. At the last count, we had 26 apple trees on our site (not including crab apples), many of which were planted when the garden was first established in 1995. We use the apples we harvest (in past years approximately a ton of fruit) in chutney, mincemeat, crumbles and we press some of them into apple juice too.

Apple trees are fantastic for us, but also fantastic for wildlife. The buds in the spring are food for birds such as bullfinches; next the blossom provides pollen and nectar for insects; and the windfall fruit is enjoyed by birds and other creatures. Apple trees rely on insects, mainly honey bees, for pollination; so apple trees and honey bees are the perfect combination at Scotswood Garden!

Worldwide it's estimated that there are 7,500 different varieties of apple (over 2000 in the UK). At Scotswood Garden these are the varieties we know the names of (sadly, we don't have a full record):

• Bramley – the classic cooker and considered to be the ‘king’ of cooking apples – we have at least 4 of these trees
• Laxton’s Fortune – an eating apple that was developed in Victorian times
• Golden Delicious – an American eating apple variety that is grown commercially too – originates from West Virginia and was discovered by chance!
• Egremont Russet – the best of the russet apples and is hardy to many climates – traditionally described as having a ‘nutty’ flavour
• Howgate Wonder – a very large cooking apple that does well in cooler parts of the country and stores well
• Discovery – this is the first of our trees that we harvest – a delicious early season eating apple that has a pink tinge to the flesh and makes very sweet juice.

Fruit trees, and particularly apples, come up time and again in myth and legend. References such as ‘the apple of my eye’ have deep roots in folklore associated with the apple being a symbol of love, friendship and purity, whilst in other situations this has been interpreted into the apple being a symbol of temptation – Adam and Eve, or wickedness – the Wicked Queen trying to kill Snow White with a poisoned apple.

In almost every country the apple is regarded as a sacred, magical or holy fruit, a symbol of fruitfulness, a means to immortality, a cure for all ills and a gift of love. An ‘Apple for the teacher’ may show their worth; ‘an Apple a day keeps the doctor away’ – the cure-all properties.