The National Trust’s Gunby Hall Estate in Lincolnshire has a beautiful walled garden, with areas dedicated to fruits and vegetables. Clive Ironmonger, the gardener who manages the vegetable plots, is one of three full-time staff, augmented by a small team of loyal volunteers.
“We have 54 varieties of apples, 21 different types of pears and assorted plums and gages,” he says. “We grow both heritage and modern varieties. The ‘Cat’s Head’ apple is the oldest variety of cooking apple we grow – it dates to 1629. We also have modern ‘Falstaff’ apples and ‘Jonagold’.
“We don’t have huge quantities of produce at any one moment. This year we hope to show a selection of apple varieties in
