THE art of training a fruit tree against a wall is a work of art and creates a fantastic feature, writes TOM ATTWOOD. This is when a fruit such as an apple, pear, cherry or fig is trained or guided by way of a bamboo framework over several years to develop a tight frame of branches that either radiate out like a fan or are arranged into vertical or horizontal tiers such as espalier or cordon. The beauty of this technique is that it keeps the tree tight to the wall. With a conventionally grown free standing tree you need infinitely more room. You can also grow trees trained like this in large containers, the ideal situation is always to grow them in the ground, but I’ve seen trees many decades old that have grown contentedly in a pot of soil. This may work for many of you where there is a solid, un-plantable surface running straight up to the wall. Choose a generous, large container to provide enough water and nutrient holding capacity, especially for those days when you may not be around to water the pot every day during the warmer months. Trees can be found from specialist growers and if you’re on a mission then some can be supplied ‘field grown’ during the winter costing less than their container grown cousins.

Single cordons, which as the name suggests are single stems that bear fruit the entire length of them, lend themselves to situations where space is limited and/or if you wish to grow a large range of varieties. They work well planted in a line and supported by posts and wires, especially once they are bearing weighty fruit. Angled to maximise space, a carefully spaced cordon can also look extremely beautiful either when in full spring blossom or at the end of the season when covered in an eclectic and diverse range of apples or pears. Double cordons look like a stretched letter 'U' and produce roughly twice the amount of fruit as a single cordon These are not typically angled but more commonly grown against a wall or upright in the ground or container. For fun and the sheer brilliance of it there is a double U cordon; as someone recently said to me they look like plumbing; a mature example is a joy to behold and whilst not commonplace they look fabulous as a focal point or feature in any garden. We have one planted in a large terracotta pot and it looks utterly marvellous whatever the time of year.

Next week: options for planting a low evergreen hedge