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Showing "D-K" products from "Fruit"
Few cottage gardens would have been without a damson tree, for the fruits make a first rate jam and can be made into 'damson cheese' or a superb wine. Merryweather is especially good in exposed or very wet locations, producing a fine crop of large blue/black fruits where many plums would not flourish. Their yellow flesh is both tart and juicy. A real taste of old England. Self fertile.
Closely related to the blackberry, this prostrate grower produces sweet, purple/black fruits in late summer. Lovely in a pie with apples and delicious as a jam or jelly, do try this rather unusual and fascinating 'bramble'.
This "three apple trees in one" is much more than just a gimmick and is well worth considering, especially if you have a smaller garden, but love the idea of freshly picked apples. The three varieties will flower around the same time, pollinating each other and giving heavy crops of three distinct apples. Grow as a bush. Our family apple tree comprises these three excellent varieties:DiscoveryA great favourite, this delicious, red skinned, early dessert apple is ready in late August and early September. The first apple of the season!James GrieveCrisp and juicy with a really fine flavour, James Grieve is ready in September and will keep until the end of October. It can also be used as a 'cooker' if desired.SunsetVery similar in colour, texture and flavour to Cox's Orange Pippin - but much easier to grow and produce a good yield. Children love these rather small, aromatic apples, which are ready in October and will keep until December.
A reliable cropper in the UK, yielding good crops from late August onwards. A 16in (40cm) wide container is ideal for growing Brown Turkey on a warm patio where, even in winter, the outline of its bare branches have a stark beauty.
Bred in Bavaria and capable of withstanding a temperature of -15 degrees, figs do not come any hardier than Violetta. It has a rather upright habit and its sweet, tasty figs are usually ready in late July. The perfect fig for nothern areas and cold, exposed locations.
Golden catkins in winter are followed by mid green, heart-shaped leaves in spring and summer and - best of all - a fine crop of large cobnuts (hazel nuts) in autumn! It makes a small tree, which does best in a warm, sunny position. Easy to grow and to manage.
This French-bred, lateral bearing variety gives good crops of large nuts from early in the season. Walnuts grow into large, impressive trees, so allow plenty of space. A great investment for the family home, which will give pleasure for decades to come.
Like the blueberry, this is regarded by many as one of the new breed of 'super foods', gram for gram goji berries have more Vitamin C than oranges, more beta-carotene than carrots and more iron than steak. It produces small deep red fruits, about the size of a raisin which have a mild, sweet flavour, a little like liquorice. They can be eaten fresh or dried and added to cereals, smoothies and juice.
1 plant each of Invicta and Pax.
A vigorous and mildew-resistant variety, Invicta gives really heavy crops of large, smooth skinned, sweet green/yellow berries in late May and early June. Delicious whether eaten fresh, in pies, crumbles or preserves and any surplus can be frozen as the fruits hold their colour and shape well when brought out for later use.
The perfect partner for Invicta as it starts cropping in late June. The bushes become virtually thorn-free when mature, producing high yields of delicious red gooseberries, which mix well with raspberries in a pie or tart. Pax also tolerates mildew and we believe it to be the best late variety.
How about picking bunches of lusciuos grapes from the comfort of your patio chair? When your Moscatto vine arrives early next summer, it will already be bearing at least 2 bunches of sweet, delisious, almost seed-free grapes. What's more, the 3 litre pot in which it is growing will be fine for its first season and it will not need pottint on until the following year, from when it will bear even more bunches of home-grown grapes. Why not treat yourself - plus it makes a thoughtful gift for friends and family.
Is this the new superfood? This form of edible honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea var. Kamtschtica) originates from Siberia and is therefore ultra-hardy plus drought-tolerant and disease free. The attractive shrubs grow about 3ft tall and 3ft wide and produce a delicious crop of long, purple/blue fruits as early as May and they can remain productive for 30 years, so are great value for money. The seedless berries have a similar flavour to that of wild blueberries and can be eaten fresh, made into jam, jelly and ice cream and will also freeze successfully. Two plants are required for pollination or each other.
As easy to grow and as delicious as raspberries, to which it is related, this fruit is perfect for bridging the gap between summer and autumn raspberries. Starry, pink-white flowers produce conical, orange-red berries, which are surrounded by calyces until they ripen in August. Plants can reach 10ft (3m).
Essentially a cross between a gooseberry and blackcurrant, it has all the virtues of both, but is thornless and disease-resistant. The vigorous plants produce black/red fruits, about the size of small gooseberries, which are rich in Vitamin C, lovely in pies or as jam and also freeze well. The flavour is similar to that of a gooseberry, but becomes more blackcurrant-like as it ripens. Not widely grown, it really is worthy of a place in any fruit garden.
A brilliant new variety which produces masses of kiwi fruits little bigger than a grape. There is no need to scoop out the delicious flesh as the fruits are eaten whole. So well has Arguta perfomed in trials in Britain that one prestigious fruit research station believes it has what it takes to become a commercially grown crop in Britain. Be one of the first to grow this real breakthrough, and see for yourself just how good it is. Like our Jenny, it is self fertile and is easy to grow, doing best in a warm, sunny sheltered position.
Jenny is a self fertile kiwi, so there is no longer the need to grow both male and female for successful fruit production. The plant is ideal for climbing through a trellis, fence of arch, or can be grown up a wall without support. It has a more compact habit than most others and its creamy white flowers have a pleasant, rose-like scent. Kiwis do best when given plenty of moisture, producing a good crop of kiwi fruits in late summer.
