Heather Hooper reviews For the Love of an Orchard by Jane McMorland Hunter and Chris Kelly.

This book is a hymn to the orchard in all its guises: as a shelter and haven, a nature reserve, place of retreat and recreation, a source of inspiration and of food, stimulation to the senses and part of our social, cultural and economic history. From the opening line, a quote from William Lawson, the authors convey the timeless, other-worldly quality of orchards, a feeling which pervades the whole book. This sense is reinforced by sumptuous photographs of fruit and blossom, painted landscapes and drawings, still lifes, diagrams and botanical art.

An account of the history of orchards begins with the origins of fruit cultivation in Ancient Persia and continues through Ancient Rome and Europe. The role of monasteries is explored, as is the cultivation of orchard fruit in palace gardens by the Tudors as a display of wealth. The later publication of fruit-growing literature led to the wider development of fruit husbandry beyond the preserve of the elite, to the spread of domestic orchards and the appearance of lavish pomonas in the 19th Century.

Meanwhile, 17th century voyages of discovery to the New World and colonisation of those lands gave rise to a demand for fruit trees and the raising of new varieties across the Atlantic. The establishment of orchards in Australia and New Zealand in the 19th Century contributed to a global fruit trade. This brought year round supplies of many fruits, but an international market also challenged and resulted in a decline in British commercial orchards leading to the present-day interest in orchard revival and a growing appreciation in this country of a national legacy in danger of being permanently lost.

The main part of the book is divided into sections on individual fruits: apples, pears, cherries, plums, quinces, mulberries and medlars, as well as hedgerow fruit associated with orchards, such as sloes, bullaces, damsons. The origins and history of each fruit are given, as well as their use in the kitchen for both food and drink, including a few recipes.

Guidance for the reader looking to create their own orchard emphasises the significance of grass underfoot and a sheltered place to sit. The traditions and benefits of livestock-keeping in orchards are also discussed, with notes on wildflowers and wildlife. Even limited spaces can house a small grove of fruit trees, or just a few varieties grown in containers, and a modest crabapple in the hedge can for many people conjure up Arcadia. The value of regional varieties suited to local growing conditions is highlighted, as is the use of a selection of fruits to extend the season and to allow for one crop to compensate for another which might fail.

Although this work is at heart a love letter to orchards, rather than a manual for growing fruit, there is still practical advice for the novice fruit grower: buying, planting and pruning, choice of varieties and rootstocks and how to work within the limits of your resources. Small shady gardens can provide a home for a Morello cherry whilst quinces, damsons and sloes are all happy in heavy soil. Fruit trees can be used in flower gardens and kitchen gardens as garden dividers and backdrops to decorative borders while underplanting with complementary flowers and herbs will often deter pests and attract beneficial insects. Assurances that the cultivation of fruit does not need to be as complicated as may often seem provide a welcome reminder that an orchard is about pleasure and satisfaction rather than a counsel of perfection. Praise for the qualities of individual trees (eg the medlar, p 57) is inspiring and stirs the urge to go out and plant.

Sections on harvesting, storage and preserving are followed by a number of appendices. A directory of restored fruit and kitchen gardens to visit, in the UK and abroad, includes many which are little-known and/or open on a limited basis. There are details of specialist nurseries and annual fruit-based events; a glossary, short bibliography and list of useful websites.

The whole book is peppered with intriguing snippets of information. For example, plums were grown in 19th Century England not only for food but also for use as a dye in the woollen industry. Similarly, the bark of pear trees produces a yellow dye and the leaves and fruits of the cherry yield a green one, and the seeds of the medlar are said to improve memory but are poisonous if eaten in quantity.

The shortcomings of this work lie in its presentation. The green print can be difficult on the eye, the occasional white print on dark green paper even more so. Tidying up and completion of references would also remove a few sources of irritation. Many but, frustratingly, not all of the illustrations are captioned or quotations referenced: it would be nice to know the source of the quote from Christopher Lloyd (p181) and the variety of bright vermillion pears ( pp 54-5) that many readers may not have seen before. The caption (p190) to the illustration (pp192-3) that the eye-catching red fruit shown laid out to dry in northern China are 'freshly-picked medlars (or possibly the closely-related hawthorn)' is extraordinary, and references to the National Fruit Collections are inconsistent and not always up-to-date. Some readers will find the occasional homey quote at the top of a page and the drawn 'beeline' from one page to another a distraction.

But these details should not overly detract from this celebration of the labours and rewards of fruit-growing. There is something for everyone here. The novice fruit-grower, social historian, gardener and cook will all find pleasure in these pages and even the most armchair-bound reader will ache to go out and create their own piece of heaven. The authors have shown that, however small or urban your plot, however ill-suited you may think it to be, the spirit of the orchard is within your grasp.

Heather Hooper

For the Love of an Orchard; Everybody's guide to growing & cooking orchard fruit by Jane McMorland Hunter and Chris Kelly, published by Pavilion Books, London, 2010, pp285, numerous colour illustrations; £25.00.