Green-fingered students are helping to expand a community orchard in Nantwich.
It is located on Nantwich Riverside behind Shrewbridge Road, by the side of the path to Queens Drive which crosses over the River Weaver.
And Reaseheath College students have been working on the orchard, which was launched by former college horticulture lecturer Tony Gentil and his wife Liz.
It contains 35 apple trees including 14 dessert (eating) apple trees, nine culinary (cooking) apple trees, four dual purpose varieties, two named pippins from Briarfields Orchard and six unnamed apple trees.
There are also two pear trees and a damson tree.
Tony was a founder member of the Cheshire Orchard Project, and planted and ran TLG Orchards at Briarfields in Aston.
The four original apple trees which launched the project were planted by Doug Butterill with children from the Weaver Primary School in 2008.
Cheshire Landscape Trust supplied and planted nine apple trees in 2011 and a further nine apple trees in 2012.
More apple trees were supplied and planted by Reaseheath College in 2012.
The orchard has since been dedicated to the memory of Tony and three commemorative trees, one pear and two pippin apples, were planted by Liz in 2013.
In December 2015, the orchard was expanded by adding four more apple trees, a pear tree and a damson tree, planted by horticulture students from Reaseheath College.
Reaseheath students also helped with winter pruning of all the apple and pear trees.
It includes well-known apple varieties in the orchard are Fiesta, Spartan, James Grieve, Kidd’s Orange Red, Lord Lambourne, St Edmunds Russet, Egremont Russetand Blenheim Orange which are all dessert (eating) apples, and Howgate Wonder and Newton Wonder which are cooking apples.
The unnamed apple trees are yet to be identified.
Sue Sherwood, of Nantwich in Bloom, said: “We aim to continue to expand the orchard increasing the range of tree fruit planted including more pears and damsons including old Cheshire varieties.”
If you are interested in finding out more about the orchard or would like to be involved in its development, contact Sue Hughes, Secretary Nantwich in Bloom, on [email protected]
(Pics by Ashley Brown, Reaseheath College)
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