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there - the trees are blossoming like there's no tomorrow. My children and I gave my wife a small orchard for her birthday in 2000. It always looks gorgeous at this time of year, and gets better every season as the trees mature.We planted young, whippy trees - a

, it's the apples and pears that have been the subject of my attentions. As we know, apple trees blossom picturesquely in spring. These flowers then develop into small fruits and then, in June, the tree shrugs and loses a fair few of these (this

the fungus before the leaves emerge from the buds. peach, nectarine, apricot and almond treesall year roundMore advice on growing fruitTraining a nectarine tree videoRemoving pear leaf blister miteKeeping apple sawfly at bayMonty's favourite fruit varieties

time, but have usually eaten their way out to overwinter on the bark of the tree. They will then pupate and hatch into adult moths the following spring, ready to mate.Holes often visible in ripe fruit. When the fruit is cut open, the tunnel made

Around the gardenTake cuttings from pansies and violasPot up tender perennials grown outside Prune rambling roses after floweringFlowersFinish summer pruning trained apple and pear treesHarvest apples, pears, plums and gages as they ripenSave seeds from varieties

the emerging aphids. Don't wait for the symptoms to appear, as there's no point in spraying once the leaves have become puckered.blackcurrants, redcurrants, whitecurrants early to mid-winter, springCommon garden pests affecting fruit treesWolly aphids on apple

or bubble polythene and they'll reward you with lush foliage next season.Clean and sharpen pruning tools Repair and treat fencing and timber structures Bring all watering equipment indoorsAround the gardenPrune wisteria sideshoots to 10-15cm from their base

, to attract beneficial insectsThin out seedlings from earlier sowingsEarth-up potatoes by pulling soil up around their stemsBuy pheromone traps to hang in apple and plum trees to control pestsSow seeds of the following crops this week if conditions are fine

Pick plums as they ripenEase onions from the soil with a fork to prepare them for harvestingFinish pruning trained forms of apple trees like cordons, espaliers and fansWater crops regularly, especially during hot weatherLift marrows

Harvest young marrows but leave some to fully ripen for storage and winter useTrim leaves from strawberries that have finished fruitingPlant out rooted strawberry runners into new bedsPick early varieties of apple as they ripen including 'Discovery