In Praise of Apples

A story worth telling

One of my favourite apple tales is that of Bloody Ploughman. The story goes that a ploughman was shot by a gamekeeper for scrumping apples at Megginch in Scotland. His grieving widow threw the cores of the stolen apples onto the muck heap, and from those cores a seedling grew. It produced deep, blood-red fruit — as if stained with the memory of the ploughman.

I love plants that come with a tale or anecdote. A garden enriched with stories — of people, places, and varieties saved from the brink — has more character and charm and becomes a rich tapestry of tales and beauty.

Beyond supermarket apples

 In the UK, most shops stock the same five or six varieties: Gala, Braeburn, Pink Lady, Jazz, Granny Smith, Bramley. They’re chosen as much for travel, storage, and shelf-life as for taste.

Yet there are thousands of varieties worldwide — around 2,000 recorded in the UK alone. Each offers something different: spiced, nutty, sharp, honeyed, perfumed. When you grow your own, you’re free from the limits of the supermarket shelf. You can pick for flavour, resilience, or heritage, not shipping containers. And with zero food miles, the carbon saving is real. 

Local heritage

 Here in the West Country we’re blessed with a wealth of local apples: Ben’s Red, Plympton Pippin, Cornish Aromatic, Cornish Gilliflower, Devonshire Quarrenden. Each one links to its place of origin and to the growers who valued it. Planting them is a small act of biodiversity preservation — keeping genetic diversity alive and making sure these living stories don’t fade away.

Spreading your harvest across the year

Apples can fill the year if you choose wisely:

• Early (July–Aug): Gladstone, Devonshire Quarrenden. Best eaten fresh.

• Mid (Sept–Oct): Sunset, Rubinette, Rival. Sweet and aromatic; store for a few weeks.

• Late (Oct–Nov): Winter Gem, Newton Wonder, Cornish Aromatic, Cornish Gilliflower. These store into winter — some right through to January.

This staggered cropping turns a few trees into a near year-round supply of fruit.

Rootstocks recap

 As I explained in my last post, the size and behaviour of your tree comes from the rootstock, not the variety. Pick the rootstock that suits your space — patio, family garden, or orchard — and then choose the varieties that excite you. 

My own apples

 On my plot I’ve planted: 

• Winter Gem – a reliable late keeper.

• Rubinette – complex flavour, often described as Cox improved.

• Sunset – Cox-like taste but much easier to grow.

• Redlove Jedermann – striking red flesh, full of antioxidants.

• Crabapple ‘Royalty’ – pollinator, ornamental, and wildlife food.

• Scrumptious – an early, sweet dessert apple.

They’re only two years old, but each was chosen for its role — whether flavour, season, disease resistance, beauty, or biodiversity. 

Family trees for small spaces

If you don’t have room for several trees, consider a family tree: multiple varieties grafted onto one rootstock. You can pick early, mid, and late apples from a single tree, and they’ll even cross-pollinate each other. Most big nurseries sell one. 

Apples as non-natives in our culture

 It’s worth remembering that apples aren’t “native” to Britain at all. Their ancestor, Malus sieversii, comes from the mountains of Central Asia. As apples spread into Europe they hybridised with our wild crab apple (Malus sylvestris). So when people talk about “native-only” planting, I often point out that some of our most treasured crops — apples, wheat, even many vegetables — are technically non-natives. Yet they’re woven so deeply into our history and culture that it’s hard to imagine a garden without them.

A joyful experiment

Photographer, educator and orchardist (and a friend of mine), William Arnold runs Some Interesting Apples. It's a quirky, creative project - he collecting pippins (self-seeded trees from discarded cores) from around Cornwall. Each seedling is grafted onto either a “good” tree or a “bad” tree, depending on its flavour. It’s part preservation, part experiment, and part fun — the chance of stumbling across a future classic. Just thinking about it makes me smile. I'm also very pleased to have contributed a tree to the list of wildings and hope it will bear fruit in this experiment in years to come! Here it is on insta.

Labelling that lasts

As an apple-fan I find it really frustrating when people don't know what's in their garden! The problem is that we don't have a modern labelling solution that lasts. Wooden tags rot and ink fades. Permanent ceramic, slate, or enamel labels are hard to source and produce but they survive the weather and give the collection a timeless, curated feel. Probably my favourite solution is The Copper Label Co., a small artisan operation out of Yorkshire. These are firmly on my Christmas list.  

The bigger picture

Apples are more than fruit. They’re living stories, part of our culture, our heritage, and our gardens. By planting varieties that fit your site and taste, you’re not only harvesting flavour — you’re preserving history and enriching your garden’s character.

Next steps

• Plan your layout: Dream Garden Workbook — map where fruit trees will provide structure and harvests.

• Add beauty + edibles: Edimentals booklet — companion planting with edible ornamentals.

• Go deeper: Self-Sustaining Garden course — design systems where fruit trees, shrubs, and perennials give more than they take.

Recommended reading:

• The Orchard Book by Wade Muggleton
• The Fruit Tree Handbook by Ben Pike