Crabby Apples

The Monks’ Garden at Highclere has been here for around 1000 years which is pretty amazing. Originally an orchard and herbiary, it was transformed around 1780 into an Italian style garden in which family and guests could wander through yew arches and admire topiary and various classical statues.

Today it remains a garden for a leisurely stroll. Although the yew arches are still there, some of the clipped yew hedges are now rather large. They grew unchecked through the world wars of the 20th century when growing vegetables took priority over topiary given the limited manpower available. Sadly, any statues are sadly long gone but Geordie and I have contributed a bird bath in the centre of the circular rose bed.

Around the old walls of the garden however we still grow medlars, figs and crab apples – a nod to the medieval orchards of the past. Crab apples are the original wild apple trees – fossils have been found from 45 million years ago. In more recent ‘Anglo Saxon’ times crab trees were a familiar feature in every orchard as well as along the edges of woodlands and they are still often found growing in hedgerows.

Their ubiquity is referenced in many family surnames such as ‘Crabbe treow” probably shortened today to Crabbe and in the names of villages – Crabbtree, or Lower Crabbe. In folklore they are a symbol of fertility and associated with love and marriage. They are also much loved by foragers and the small, hard fruits make a delicious jewel-coloured jelly. Crab apples are rather tart raw but the jelly is easy to make as the fruit has a high pectin content.

Highclere’s crab apples are trained along a wall but they can grow to around 10 meters. They have a greyish brown flecked bark with a wide canopy of gnarled, twisted branches which can include spines on the twigs. The branches are often encrusted with lichen as well as being successful hosts for mistletoe. In fact, its “crabbed” appearance is probably what gave the tree its common name.

Their official Latin name is very different – Malus sylvestris. Malum the Latin noun which means ‘evil’ whilst another Latin noun, borrowed from Greek μῆλον, means ‘apple’.  “Mal” is the root of many English words of ill omen (maltreat, malice) whilst in legal terms malus is a financial penalty incurred by a trader or banker when an investment or deal results in a loss. Thus, the Latin terminology has burdened this little tree with all the implications of Adam’s fall in the Garden of Eden despite the fact that the forbidden fruit was not an apple.

An established crab apple tree needs little maintenance although we do prune them annually given where they are planted. In springtime they have an abundance of blossom which lasts for a long time hence its own success as a tree and its contribution to wildlife and insects as bees go in search of early nectar. In summer they offer dappled shade followed by the fruits in autumn.

Despite this they are not as popular as they used to be which is a shame. All of us should plant a tree if we can and a crab apple, with its compact form and all-round interest, certainly repays with plenty.

“Crab-apples, Crab-apples, out in the wood,
Little and bitter, yet little and good!” (Cicely Mary Barker The Crab Apple Fairy)