Fred's fruitage

The late lamented and indefatigable Whittlesford horticulturalist, Fred Winter, gardened an impressive sizeage of allotments when he was with us, and built up quite a collection of sheds along the way.

Alas, with his passing, the parish council now needs to decide how to handle that inheritance - some of it fruitful and to be preserved, such as the well-established apple and plum trees. Some, however, needs careful handling, because some of those sheds are in a parlous state.

The parish council is making plans, over the autumn, to rescape the area, beginning by taking down the sheds, freeing up some allotment space, and moving the newly planted "community orchard" trees - now looking healthy - to blend in with Fred's fruitage so that we can have a larger, and more orchard like orchard. 

I've been talking to the district council's ecology officer, and he will advise on moving and preserving the trees, and creating some wildlife opportunities as part of the proposed orchard. I'm hoping the local scouts can lend a hand with the less hazardous work.