Tree Of Life

My education in fruit continued on Wednesday when it was time to clear the greenhouse for winter. The two figs, Brunswick and Brown Turkey had finally dropped their leaves so we could have a good tidying and pruning session. The Brunswick which is altogether a neater plant and best for the small garden needed little attention, but the Brown Turkey had burst its pot and proceeded to send new shoots everywhere, you could barely get in through the door, it was time to show it who was boss. I think you'll agree it looks much better. Figs are the earliest domesticated crop known to man and are thought to have been deliberately cultivated 1000 years before cereals, this is because some are parthenocarpic and do not need to be pollinated to produce fruit! After lunch we watched an extraordinary film about the symbiotic relationship between a tiny wasp and the sycamore fig in Africa,it was called the African Queen a natural world programme, I was amazed at the diversity of life just one tree supports. Sometimes it's such a privilege to gain an insight into nature.

Pics- Autumn at Spofforth, the  Cotinus tree looking superb, and the Brown Turkey fig before and after.

"Train up your fig tree in the way it should go, and when you are old sit under the shade of it"
Charles Dickens