Luton Orchards
Researching the past and securing the future of orchards in Luton
Discover Luton's orchards in history and where to find community orchards in our town today. Find out how you can help care for fruit trees, learn heritage skills such as pruning and grafting and why orchards are fantastic habitats for nature and people.
Delve into Luton's fruit-growing past
Discover Luton's orchards IN history
We scoured historical maps, gathered oral histories, collected orchard memories, searched archives and surveyed locations across Luton town. The results are now published on this website.
View the map of orchards and read their profiles.
See Luton's Existing orchards
Nowhere in Luton is too far from fruit trees: at least 20 locations, well distributed across our town, and many in public places. Check out our list of Luton orchards to find out more.
Enjoy the 2024 batch of juice
Get your bottle of Luton Orchards apple juice
Our juice is now bottled and ready to enjoy. Claim your free bottle if you donated to us or if you volunteered for the project. What's left is available for a donation.
Pruning courses, walks and more.
Hands-On activities
Your orchard needs you! Orchards are farmed environments as well as natural ecosystems. Establishing trees is hard. Orchards need careful intervention:
staking/protection against rabbits/dogs and vandalism
weeding and mulching
watering young trees during dry spells
new plantings to ensure the habitat survives
formative, maintenance and restorative pruning
No matter whether you have the skills already or would like to learn, all you need is a love of orchards!
Orchard magic in late summer
What's so good about orchards?
There are many reasons why orchards are fantastic. Apart from treating us to tasty fruit, they make great habitats for wildlife and are magical spaces to enjoy.