The annual meeting of non-profit organisations that promote traditional and local fruit cultivars in Europe took place on 27 and 28 October in Troyes, France. The event coincided with the 40th anniversary of its organiser, Les Croqueurs de pommes®.
With so many varieties growing in the domestic gardens of Aurillac and its surroundings, identifying the name of an apple can be difficult. But is it a priority for those who aim at sharing their fruit with other gardeners and fruit users?
It will come as a surprise to many, who believe Aurillac is France’s coldest city, that peaches actually grow here. I visited Claude’s garden on 8 August, where he has been cultivating this fruit for almost half a century.
Carefully recorded information about the origins of the fruit varieties conserved in the British National Fruit Collection should help their French counterpart adjust their own records. Continue reading
In the last two years the garden I visited in August 2016 has flourished under its owner’s tender care. June is a great time to see apricots and peaches in this now luxuriant orchard.
A 2,500 square-meter orchard nested in a corner of the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris is what remains of a Carthusian domain which once hosted a big and internationally renowned fruit tree nursery. The monks left long ago, but their delicious varieties are back.
Seeing lemons and oranges on trees in Lisbon this Easter sparked my interest in citrus fruit. I carried out library research to learn about this fruit family of Asian origin while looking out for trees in the streets and gardens of the Portuguese capital. Continue reading
