Apple blossom time

    James Grieve, a local variety.

    In his Anatomy of Dessert: With a Few Notes on Wine, Edward Bunyard - nurseryman and pomologist - describes James Grieve as "in its Midlothian home, a Christmas apple, but with us in the Home Counties a September fruit." Mine didn't get much chance of being either last year as the squirrels got most of them, but perhaps the apple's late season here explains why in September and October so many specimens were sampled by the squirrels and found wanting. Typically the blighters brazenly picked the fruit, took a bite, decided they weren't to their taste, and left them littered about the garden. Perhaps this year I should net the tree.

Comments

[Spade & Dagger]

Netting the tree is well worthwhile the effort if you want some of the fruit for delicious jelly or preserves. On my allotment, I'm resigned to the fact of netting absolutely everything against the foraging wildlife if I wish to have a share of the bounty! I remove the net after selective picking and leave the remainder for the animals/birds.

[Sam]

We have some low, cordoned apple trees and the fruit is snaffled by badgers before we get to sample them. I've no idea what they taste like!

[Claire]

I am not absolutely sure, but the picture looks like a couple of the trees in the park next to my house. These apples are much smaller than a normal apple fruit and we call it "paradise apples". Actually it`s fading, but a few days ago I saw these trees blossoming - the view is breathtaking, beautiful indeed!
Early in the morning is possible to see two elks, who craves it.( And some wild ducks all day long) My grandmother had been harvesting these apples in November, while they had lived in Gdańsk, near The Baltic Sea, and afterwards the fruits were on the top of her Christmas cake.

[Toffeeapple]

Beautiful blossom, fingers crossed for you being able to sample the fruit.

[Fran H-B]

Although wild cherry looks stunning when in blossom there is something so special about apple blossom. Certainly worth netting if the local squirrels are going to repeat last years practices.

[Dark Puss]

Bunyard - what a genius food and wine writer! Shoot the blighters (unless red of course) :-)