For several years now, I have had a Williams Bon Chretien double-u cordon growing in a pot along with a Conference pear and a couple of Reine de Reinettes reinette apples. Despite giving them the largest pots I could find, they never did especially well, until this year when I took them out of their pots and plunged them into the ground in the chicken garden some weeks ago once the trellising and gates had been erected.
Even in this short time the fruit trees have thrown off their corsets and developed voluptuous fruits. Their golden glow gave away their readiness to be picked, and so I lifted each one gently in the palm of my hand to see if it would yield only taking those that came away in my hand immediately. The warm honeyed fragrance is intoxicating, and I was surprised not to find them over run with wasps, especially as we currently have 2 nests in the garden, both in roofs.
These first fruits will be eaten as they are, simple and delicious in their own right. Later I expect I shall experiment with some spiced pear chutney, and if we get enough before the wasps catch on, I might even have a go at making a Perry, as the iGit is very partial to a cider or a Perry with his evening meal.
* listening to -
" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen>*reading - How to be a Women, Caitlin Moran
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Home for me is Worcestershire too - Evesham in fact. A Huge Pear grew up the back of my Grandmother's Edwardian house. My Grandad used to make Perry from it, recall it was supped with Christmas cake as part of the Christmas Tea festivities. Pears were also poached in syrup for dessert, often served alongside rice pudding that had been baked all day in the Aga's slow oven.
There were many fine plums, pears and apples in the orchard too, we used to stuff ourselves silly in season.