Orchard – Lanchester Community Orchard

First signs of Spring!

If you’re going for a walk around the orchard in the next few weeks watch out for the snowdrops and other early Spring flowers.

Our Colourful Nut Trees!

Our annual display of colourful catkins can be seen in our nut grove. It’s a joy to see the orchard waking up after the long winter and well worth a wander around the orchard to see them!

Nut Trees waking up in the Orchard Nut Grove!

During one of our February work sessions, we took the chance to wander round the orchard. The hazelnut and cob trees are moving already and we have a lovely display of catkins.

The Orchard has woken up again and is still providing a space for exercise and fresh. Some of the trees are in early blossom and the catkins in the nut grove have appeared. Hopefully this late cold snap won’t cause the trees any problems!

Weeding and Tidying continue!

Despite all the upheaval of the recent months we have still managed to carry out all of the jobs in the orchard whilst following Government guidelines. The orchard has been a peaceful breathing space for our members.

Grass has been cut, the fruit tree and soft fruit beds have had a much needed weed and the Forest Garden Project has continued.

Wild Flower Meadows June 2020

Our wild flower meadows are in full bloom again. The plugs planted by the Rainbows and Brownies several years ago are also thriving.

May Blossom 2020

The warm weather we have been enjoying recently has encouraged our fruit trees to blossom. The scent of apple blossom fills the summer evenings. One of our members recently took a stroll around the orchard to photograph the trees in bloom.

Photos courtesy of Zam Tea

Apple picking and juicing day October 2019

Despite the damp, rainy October we have been experiencing, we were lucky to have a sunny morning for our annual apple picking and juicing day. Despite the poor crop of apples we were able to pick enough to share with the orchard members and produce some bottles of juice.

Although the apple crop may have been disappointing this year we have had a bumper crop of hazel and cob nuts.

Summer Catch Up!

The mixture of rain and sun has helped the orchard to thrive again and it’s looking as beautiful as ever in the late summer sunshine.

The apples are begining to ripen and the plums are now purple and ready to eat.

There are abundant nuts on the nut trees and it will be a race to who can pick them first us or the squirrels!

One of our major jobs is also looming on the horizon…scything! The grass in the meadows is now ready to cut. We cut the hay using traditional methods using scythes which will all need inspecting and any repairs made before the scything begins.

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More wild flowers flourishing

Last year, we planted some native wild flowers and they have now begun to flower. Steve spotted these Ox Eyed Daisies, Ragged Robin, Yellow Flag Iris and Foxgloves. Can you guess which of these flowers are below? (Click on the images for the answer)