(…when safe & feasible to). What is Brogdale Collections? Brogdale Collections manages public access to the UK’s National Fruit Collection (NFC) at Brogdale Farm near Faversham in Kent. It is the largest collection of temperate fruit in one place in the world! Row upon row of fruit trees and grape vines make up its treasure […]
Blog
Racial Justice and Community Orchards
How does racial inequality manifest within public greenspaces? The accessibility of natural spaces is not just a matter of social status; race matters too. Our CEO and Operations Director reflect on how race matters within greenspaces and remind us that diversity always wins in the natural world. – By Kath Rosen and Ella Hashemi. As […]
A (Brief) History of Cider in the UK
The United Kingdom drinks more cider than any other country in the world. In fact, it drinks more cider than all the other countries combined. You could say we like our cider. Perhaps almost as much as we like our tea. Cider’s popularity has fluctuated through the ages: there was a time when cider was […]
Locking-down is Slowing-down: A new, national appreciation for nature’s rhythms?
“The rhythm we adopt when tending to plants is the perfect antidote to the instant gratification and high-speed consumerism rife within our pre-pandemic society.” – Jo Hooper and Nicole Thomas reflect on the recent surge in gardening and what this might mean for our wellbeing. We’ve living in a ‘Crop-Growing Revolution’, according to The Guardian. […]
Which Bloomin’ Blossom is it? Our guide to blossom timing
We may be spending most of our time indoors at the moment, but there are still opportunities to enjoy spring unfolding its sequence of fruit tree blossom. Whether you’re looking at street trees from your window, in your garden, or in the park during your exercise walks, now is the time to relish beautiful blossom, […]
The Mums who planted more than a seed to unite their local community
Meet Emma, Rachel and Janet: the mums with a mission! Along with other local mothers from Sale in South Manchester, they set out to improve their local park and ended up bringing almost 1,000 people from the community together in honour of apples. Their much-loved orchard is now a very special community asset, which will […]
A Sign of Things to Come? – Inspiration for Orchard Signage
The Orchard Project team is often asked, ‘what type of orchard signage is best?’. Recently in Edinburgh, community orchard groups set out to answer this question. Seeking ways to improve the signage in different community orchards, a collective embarked on a road trip in search of inspiration. Our Edinburgh Project Manager, Chris, tells us more: […]
A Toast to our Trees!
As winter rolls around and our fruit trees fall dormant once again, we turn our focus to the Wassail tradition. And of course the Mulled Cider that accompanies it! Make your own with our delicious recipe.
What does a resilient orchard look like?
Many of our orchards are surprisingly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Not only is physical damage caused by, for example, late frosts or strong winds, but the stress caused by unpredictable weather makes our trees much more vulnerable to pests and diseases. This all has the effect of reducing yields. So what strategies […]
Has your apple pie run dry? 10 alternatives to use up surplus apples
It’s September and the apples are in abundance! If you’re lucky (and skilled) enough to have a great crop of apples this year, but unsure what to do with them, this post is for you. Perhaps your relatives have had enough jars of apple chutney for Christmas, and there is only so much apple crumble […]