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Long lost fruit trees 'find'
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| Mary Harkness with her rare damsons |
A WOMAN from Crosthwaite has stumbled upon a sweet-tasting surprise after discovering a rare fruit growing in her orchard.
Mary Harkness made the fruitful discovery when she found Blue Violet damsons growing in her orchard at Crosthwaite - and it is thought that the trees are the only ones left in the country that bare the fruit, which has been threatened with extinction.
Following months of research into the elusive crop, Mrs Harkness discovered that the Blue Violet was first grown in the orchard by Howard Millard, who in 1932 sent two small trees to be tested by the Royal Horticultural Society and the National Fruit Tree Collection, in Kent.
Those trees are now thought to be deceased and, after speaking to experts from the RHS and the Westmorland Damson Association, Mrs Harkness believes that hers are the only two remaining fruit-bearing trees suitable for propagation.
The Blue Violets, which fruit in late July, are bigger than the normal Shropshire Prune damsons that are found in the Lyth Valley and possess a sweeter flavour that makes them an ideal soft fruit, which can be eaten straight from the tree.
For full story, see the August 17 Westmorland Gazette.
10:53am Friday 17th August 2007
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CommentPosted by: Noel Salisbury, Garstang on 2:46pm Thu 20 Sep 07
Great;- so are folk now propagating them (?), as I'm sure there will be a great deal of people wanting to both plant and eat them !
( I note that this variety is actually for sale
from "Keepers Nursery" - so are the trees that
BEAR (see text above) - all that rare ?
Great;- so are folk now propagating them (?), as I'm sure there will be a great deal of people wanting to both plant and eat them !
( I note that this variety is actually for sale
from "Keepers Nursery" - so are the trees that
BEAR (see text above) - all that rare ?
Posted by: Jacyntha Crawley, Richmond, Surrey on 4:45pm Sat 13 Oct 07
I have linked your piece on the "lost" damson varieties
http://www.thewestmo
rlandgazette.co.uk/m
ostpopular.var.16259
21.mostcommented.lon
g_lost_fruit_trees_f
ind.php
to my website
http://www.jacynthac
rawley.com/phdi/p1.n
sf/supppages/bio?ope
ndocument&part=9, at the bottom of the page. I will also add it in the near future to page 10 and to page 2 of www.concerned-reside
nts.co.uk. If Brogdale is to be "saved" for the future then it is vital that the campaign gets maximum publicity and your item is an article with a genuinely human "face".
I am an internationally published author, and my website is well visited. If, at any time, you are interested in an article on complimentary medicine, fair trade or conservation, then I'd be happy to contribute one in exchange for an acknowledgement, but the real purpose of this e.mail is that Brogdale has to be saved!
Yours very sincerely
Jacyntha Crawley.
I have linked your piece on the "lost" damson varieties
http://www.thewestmo
rlandgazette.co.uk/m
ostpopular.var.16259
21.mostcommented.lon
g_lost_fruit_trees_f
ind.php
to my website
http://www.jacynthac
rawley.com/phdi/p1.n
sf/supppages/bio?ope
ndocument&part=9, at the bottom of the page. I will also add it in the near future to page 10 and to page 2 of www.concerned-reside
nts.co.uk. If Brogdale is to be "saved" for the future then it is vital that the campaign gets maximum publicity and your item is an article with a genuinely human "face".
I am an internationally published author, and my website is well visited. If, at any time, you are interested in an article on complimentary medicine, fair trade or conservation, then I'd be happy to contribute one in exchange for an acknowledgement, but the real purpose of this e.mail is that Brogdale has to be saved!
Yours very sincerely
Jacyntha Crawley.
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