Beurre Bosc

Belgium 1807. Pyriform in shape with a long tapering neck, dark yellow with a cinnamon coloured russet. A dessert fruit with tender melting flesh, juicy with a deliciously rich flavour and aroma. Pollinators - Williams or Commice. Autumn Harvest.

Beurre Anjou

Old French pear. Origins unknown. Distinct, large uniform smooth yellow skin, dotted with russet. A faint blush and borne on a thick short stem. Yellow white tender flesh, slightly granular. Juicy, sweet and spicy, richly vinous. Pollinator - Williams. Early Winter Harvest.

France 1820. Very large handsome fruit. Flavour and texture, very fine, melting, juicy and luscious, the equal of any pear. Pollinator - Packham. Autumn Harvest.

Doyenne du Comice

Taken from the gardens of the Comice Horticole, Angers, France. Medium sized, oval, pyriform. Golden russet and of delicious flavour , with a blush in the sun. Good home garden type. Pollinators - Beurre Bosc, Williams, Anjou. Autumn Harvest.

Packham's Triumph

Federation Australian heritage variety. Raised by Charles Packham Molong New South Wales. Large pyriform, lumpy greenish yellow skin, with exceptional flavour. A must have variety for the garden and orchard. Pollinator - Winter Cole. Ripens 3
or 4 weeks after Williams in the Autumn.

Twyford Monarch

Large pear, russeted skin. Bears well. Luscious dessert pear, one of the best in existence. Pollinator - Williams. Autumn Ripening.

Williams' Bon Chretien

Medium sized to large. Pale green becoming yellow when ripe. Delicious juicy, musky flavour. Pollinator - Buerre Bosc.  Early ripening, very late Summer - Early Autumn.

Winter Cole

Medium size. Russet skin. Good keeper, juicy with a rich flavour. Pollinator - Williams, Buerre Bosc. Valuable Late Harvest

The quince has been in cultivation since ancient times, with its home around the shores of the eastern Mediterranean. Highly regarded by the ancient Greeks and Romans, the quince was the 'golden apple' that Paris awarded to Aphrodite, the symbol of love, marriage and fertility. It was dedicated to Venus, and according to Plutarch, a law was enacted that this fruit should be the feast of every newly wedded couple, and for good reason!

The quince is a wonderful aphrodisiac, and its reputation as a symbol of love and fertility continued till Shakespeare's day : In Romeo and Juliet, the nurse informs Lady Capulet of the "...call for dates and quinces in the pastry..." for the wedding feast of Juliet and Paris.

A many branched, small, hardy tree of great character, almost weeping, a good specimen tree, with spectacular white or pink tinged flowers, on leafy calyx lobes.

It flowers late, and resists frosts well. Self fertile, tolerant of a range of soils, but the best fruits are produced in a temperate climate with warm autumns and moist soils, but can be seen growing well on heavy clay and/or dry Mediterranean hillsides.

USES: Commonly used for quince jelly, candy,marmalade. Can be baked with dates/raisins in the core, quince paste (still popular in France) or even sliced thin and eaten raw. In the 19th Century, quinces were made into wine in Sussex - reputed to benefit asthma sufferers.

Currently enjoying a resurgence in popularity, the quince is a tree well worth growing, for ornament at all stages and for their golden multi-use fruit.

The variety I'm offering this year is SMYRNA one of the hardiest and best for all temperate districts.

Features: Compact vigorous grower with early large elongated deep red to black fruit, with a richly delicious, intense berry flavour. Attractive foliaged, medium to eventually large spreading tree, which is very long lived. Young trees grow fast and fruit early with thick dark green foliage, making a good shade tree. Mulberries ripen progressively so some immature fruit is coming along while some is ready to eat. Ripe fruit are black and fall with little effort to remove them. Heavy bearer.

One and two year old trees, $25 and $40 each, plus $5 each postage and packaging

Conditions : Suitable to most soils in sunny sites. Comes into leaf late, and so usually misses late frosts. For best results enrich soil with well rotted compost and mulch well, water regularly over summer.