Mapping Shaftesbury’s Orchard Town: Help Us Record Local Fruit & Nut Trees

The Shaftesbury Tree Group is mapping all existing fruit and nut trees across the area. If you grow apples, pears, plums, figs, or other edible trees, they would love to include them on the community orchard map.

A growing orchard across Shaftesbury

Report by Joe Hashman – November 2025

Good news – all of the 12 discounted apple trees we offered last month have found new homes. In fact, demand was such that we’ve made an additional order for seven more trees. So that’s another nineteen apple trees we know about that’ll be planted this winter to bolster Shaftesbury Orchard Town.

Think greening, think food security, think spring blossom, and the rest. It’s all helpful stuff and future generations will be thankful. As a wise person once said: “The best time to plant an apple tree was twenty years ago.”

A friend called round on Tuesday. He’d been standing in Park Walk garden by the sun dial looking over and noticed a couple of apple trees below.

We chatted. Many years back my friend planted a small orchard up at Bray (off Ivy Cross roundabout) and is always keen to see what’s happening elsewhere. But he’d not noticed there’s been an entire orchard quietly developing on the St James Park slopes for the last fifteen years. Until now…

One of the beautiful things about Shaftesbury Orchard Town is that it already exists – in gardens, along verges, amongst our churchyards, recreation grounds and open spaces. What we’re trying to do is thicken it up, make it denser, bring fruit and nut trees closer to people, fill the gaps.

We’re mapping this already-existing orchard, which means plotting what edible trees are growing where. If you’ve got one or more apple, pear, plum, damson, fig etc, would you consider letting us know? Yes please for old trees you might have inherited, young saplings just planted, and everything in-between.

We don’t need your name, just the address of the garden in which they’re growing and any details you’re comfortable sharing. If you know the name of the variety then bonus, but don’t worry if not. We’d still love to include your fruit and nut trees on our map. Simply email your information to us via Planet Shaftesbury. We’ll do the rest and, in due course, publish our work-in-progress on the Shaftesbury Orchard Town page. You can also contact me at planetshaftesbury@gmail.com.