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This orchard is located just off the New Bedford Road and is named after the creator of the adjacent Bide-a-While garden. A good dozen veteran fruit trees from around the 1930s are hidden within the woodland. A small orchard was added in 2019 by Penrose Roots. It's looked after by volunteers from the Penrose Roots to Recovery garden, with support from Luton Orchards and Luton Council.
This orchard is located just off the New Bedford Road and is named after the creator of the adjacent Bide-a-While garden. A good dozen veteran fruit trees from around the 1930s are hidden within the woodland. A small orchard was added in 2019 by Penrose Roots. It's looked after by volunteers from the Penrose Roots to Recovery garden, with support from Luton Orchards and Luton Council.
Summary
Summary
Location: Barnfield
Size: 0.79ha
Number of trees: 30 approx.
Crops: apple, cherry, pear, plum
Age of trees: young trees, veteran trees
Access: any time, council-owned, but please respect the privacy of the adjacent Penrose Roots to Recovery garden staff and volunteers
Natural England incremental ID: BEDF0432
History
History
The 1922 OS map lists the land here as 'Allotment Gardens' and we believe the trees are left from the top fruit that was grown on the plots. Some fences showing the old allotment boundaries remained in 2024, but were due to be removed.
The area adjacent to Bide-a-While is surrounded by hedging and fencing around different groups of trees:
about 7 veteran fruit trees are close by the hedge to Bide-a-While
a dozen or so of fruit trees are hidden within the wooded area of sycamore, hazel and elderflower to the east of the private Penrose Roots to Recovery garden
12+ young fruit trees were planted in 2019 by Penrose Roots to Recovery along the north-west corner of the site to ensure a succession of fruit trees there.
Luton Council's Nature Conservation Volunteers are working to clear the scrub around some of the trees in the wooded area for the habitat benefits this brings.
Young trees in spring. These local Bedfordshire varieties were planted in 2019 by Penrose Roots volunteers.
Young trees in winter. Veteran fruit trees in the background.
Crop types and cultivars at Farr's Orchard
Crop types and cultivars at Farr's Orchard
The cultivars of the veteran trees are currently unknown. The new plantings from Penrose Roots include:
Type Cultivar
Type Cultivar
Apple Lord Lambourne
Awaiting complete list.
Veteran apple trees hidden within the woodland of hazel, elder and sycamore.
Apple blossom at the tip of a branch.
Beetle frass (excrement) in a trunk cavity of an apple tree at Farr's Orchard - a good indicator of the biodiversity value of this habitat.
Well-labelled trees in the Penrose Roots orchard. The original labels were simply laminated to preserve them - ingenious!
The corresponding Lord Lambourne apple in September 2024.
Maintenance and pruning
Maintenance and pruning
The 2019 plantings are maintained by Penrose Roots volunteers and Luton Orchards held a pruning course with them in February 2024. Many of the trees are now developing a good framework. The veteran trees have been largely untouched for many years and would benefit from careful restoration work to stop overly extended limbs from breaking. Clearing the scrub and coppicing the hazel would help bring light back on to the trees to ensure their survival. When sun hits the trunks and raises the temperature within the tree, it also increases the habitat value.
Lord Lambourne apple - another Laxton's variety from Bedford.
Deciding which branches to prune.
Formative pruning course with Konni Deppe in February 2024, attended by Penrose Roots staff and volunteers.
Do you want to help care for this orchard?
Do you want to help care for this orchard?
Luton's orchards need your help. If you'd like to find out more about how to volunteer at this or any orchard, we would love to hear from you. Sign up for our mailing list or send us a message.
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