Another bright day brought a chance to tackle the big Bramley at the top of the garden. This one is much taller than the others and strong enough to climb which is great fun, if a little precarious. From there the view of the garden sloping away is quite lovely, and with the occasional wave from passing canal boaters it was a perhaps the perfect way to spend New Year’s Eve.

The first thing I noticed about the Bramley is that it produces fruit buds everywhere, not just on spurs, but at the tips of laterals and leaders as well, so every cut reduces this year’s fruit buds. Deciding what to do was more tricky with this one. But we can only eat so many Bramleys and heavy fruit 15 feet up are potential bombs more than a promise of pudding.

So I left some of the shorter, accessible tip fruit buds alone, reduced the height a bit, took off the branches overhanging the canal gate and the honeysuckle seat, thinned out some crowded branches and cleaned up the lower big branches a bit. I do want it to still look like a natural, spreading tree.

December 31, 2007