It’s springtime and I’m feeling fruity. This week I’m taking you on a tour of my garden to find evidence of future fruits, including nectarines, plums, grapes, melons, raspberries and rhubarb.
Nectarine – Prunus persica var. nectarina ‘Lord Napier’
This is a new tree which I planted against the south facing wall which backs my greenhouse and forms a courtyard area. I’ve also planted a peach and and apricots along the wall.
The aim is to fan train these trees. The picture below shows the nectarine with the leading stem pruned off to encourage side branching. Right now it looks pretty puny but over the next few years, with careful pruning, these trees should make a great feature, and hopefully bear some fruit.
Meanwhile a small number of nectarine blossoms are out in the spring sunshine. Nectarine blossom is a glorious fondant pink and perfectly shaped.
Who knows if I’ll get fruit this year. I could help the process by pollinating using a paintbrush but the weather has been good this week and there are plenty of pollinators about so I think I’ll just wait and see.
Melon F1 ‘Alvaro’
My father attempted twice to grow melons in his greenhouse and was unhappy with the results. He was a great gardener and so I’ve never tried, thinking if he couldn’t do it then neither could I.
A few weeks ago I was invited to a local garden of a friend who grows pineapples successfully in his kitchen and also melons in his greenhouse. He suggested a hybrid variety of cantaloupe melon that does very well in the UK, even outdoors. 
Three of the four seeds sown have germinated so I may experiment with two in the greenhouse and one outdoors, trained up the wall near my nectarine.
Plum ‘Victoria’
I’m very fond of this tree as I planted it in my little orchard 6 years ago as a tiny single stemmed whip. It looked so unpromising at the time but has grown into a lovely tree. Each year it is smothered in pretty white blossom and last year was weighed heavy with tasty fruits.
If I’m being picky I’d say the shape of the tree is not quite right and it does stretch skywards slightly too much. I’d rather the plums were in reach. It is best pruned after flowering so soon I’ll be getting my loppers out to shape it further.
Grape vine – Vitis ‘Madresfield Court’
I shared a picture of this grape vine, when first planted, but was really pleased that it has started to grow strongly this week in the corner of my greenhouse. I’m not surprised as the plant I received mail-order in autumn from Sunnybank nurseries was an extremely healthy-looking specimen with a fantastic root structure.
I still haven’t worked out how to train it but if it continues to grow strongly, I won’t have long to make my decision. I love it when plants prevent procrastination.
Raspberries
I really don’t like to buy raspberries outside of their UK season, imported from abroad and always in plastic punnets lined with bubble wrap. Even seasonal Scottish raspberries come similarly clad in plastic. Aside from the plastic issues, raspberries are very expensive in the shops.
So I love growing raspberries of my own and whilst the season in my garden is fairly short, I eat them from my freezer year-round and as jam on scones as a special treat.
I’m lucky to have the room for three rows of summer fruiting canes. They were here when I moved in, although I replaced the fruit cage 9 years ago and so I moved the canes and replanted them once the new fruit cage was built.
I don’t know which variety this is but it’s certainly a tasty one with long fruits that freeze very well. I’m looking forward to July, when these dark pink jewels will be in my pudding bowl once more.
Rhubarb
Whilst I wait for my raspberries, rhubarb fills the pudding gap. Rhubarb crumble and stewed rhubarb with honey and yoghurt are big favourites in my family. I’ve also got a good recipe for rhubarb cordial which goes very well with fizzy water or even champagne. If you want to know more about growing and forcing rhubarb click here.
I’ve been amazed how quickly the rhubarb has been growing in the last two weeks and the stalks in the forcers are almost ready. I predict my first pudding next week.
If you want to read other contributions to the Six on Saturday link up of gardeners click here to go to the page of host The Propagator.
I also grow melon this year in a greenhouse. It will be Irina from Seedaholic. Pretty much like yours in size but leggy. The cold nights force me to move the pots inside and they only have the sun of the greenhouse from 11h to 17h … I will sow another batch in a few weeks. Nice to see your nectarine. Good luck with your new fruit trees.
We can compare notes on the melon varieties, Fred. Mine are still growing in a little propagator in the greenhouse so they’re pretty pampered!
I so love raspberries! But, I found them so much work I tore mine out. I didn’t keep on their needs, like laying the new growth over for better access to the fruiting canes (and easier pruning when the fruit was done), and the 12 quickly became many dozens, popping up in paths and other beds!
It was me, not them. They were Meeker.
Hi Lisa – I’m probably a bit lazy in my approach to the raspberries. I don’t lay down the new growth, I just ferret about for the fruit in the raspberry jungle! The only thing I do is cut down the old canes and tie the new ones to my wires. I know what you mean about them popping up everywhere. There are five canes that have popped up amongst my strawberries.
What a delight to have so much fruit growing. You can weigh the tips of the plum tree stems downwards. I was looking through my RHS Pruning & Training Manual after I decided to weigh down the branches…and realised it has all been done before. Suggest you google Festooned Plums. Happy Gardening.
I’d not heard of weighing the plum boughs down so thanks so much. I’ll enjoy reading up on that. Thanks Noelle.
The Nectarine blossom is a lovely colour. Good luck with the fruit. I have a very late rhubarb plant, only just beginning to emerge from the soil. I love rhubarb especially for breakfast with Greek yoghurt. Totally yummy!
Yes Rhubarb and greek yoghurt is delicious. I’ve been mixing nuts in a jar with honey and I spoon some of those on too. I bet you can’t wait to taste that rhubarb.
I have a Victoria Plum that is covered in flower and needing pruning, must be a year or two older than yours. I never feel like I know what I’m doing when I prune it, but it fruits well, so I’ll carry on the same. I’ve had a couple of small pickings from my rhubarb already, lovely stuff.
I’m the same as you on pruning the plum. I just look at the shape and see if I like it. As long as there are flowers below where I’m pruning I assume they’ll be some fruit.
Wonderful to have a garden that provides so many delicious fruits to eat. Your plants all look so healthy and raring to grow. Your fan trained trees will look fabulous when they grow some more. I’d love to do that here, but it’s really too hot in summer.
There are some advantages to the British climate I guess. I had the confidence to try the stoned fruit as my friend has an apricot nearby and she gets 4kg of fruits most year. Lots of jam to be made from that.
Fruity! I am fan training a Victoria plum, its 3 or 4 years old. It is just beginning to put out blossom for the first time so I hope I will also get fruit for the first time this year. It’s a good 6′ high now and a fairly convincing fan shape.
A great idea to fan train a plum. Where there’s blossom there can be fruit so I think you’ll be sampling some this year. The first year mine fruited I was away on holiday and came home to shrivelling fruit smothered in wasps. At least they were enjoyed I suppose.
Wonderful. I can only dream of growing peaches and nectarines up here. Although we are in the heart of raspberry growing country with dozens of varieties locally. Our rhubarb is only just starting in to growth just now. I really like a good rhubarb forcer as a practical ornament. I have been on the lookout for some second hand forcers for a while but they are not easy to come by!
Those second hand forcers can be very expensive. My brother saw one on an interior design shop website for £2000. It was allegedly Victorian but it didn’t even have a lid! You’re lucky to live in raspberry country – are there lots of pick your own places?
£2000 you would have to seriously enjoy your rhubarb for that!! Yes loads of raspberry farms up here. Also would recomend looking out for tayberries if you haven’t got any already. They are a hybrid cross between a blackberry and a raspberry and really delicious.
I’ve just planted several raspberry canes this year. I’ve never grown them before so I’m excited to harvest them.
Those first raspberries will taste delicious, Sophie. You won’t regret planting them. Are they summer fruiting types? Mine all are. I’m thinking of branching out and getting some autumn ones too.
The Nectarone flower is so pretty. Thanks for posting that