The Community Orchard – First Stage
We are creating a community orchard out of a derelict stretch of land near the bottom of the main
drive. The project has proved very popular and we have received a lot of help and support
We have made good progess with clearing the site. We have cleared a mass of bramble, nettle
and ivy, and discovered a few neglected veteran apple trees at the far end, planted, we understand,
by a Parks Department employee when he was living in the adjacent bungalow. We have taken
out a section of the massive Leylandii hedge, which is now being used as a woodchip mulch. On
15 February Greenhill Scouts and University volunteers helped us to plant 180 native hedge whips
which were donated by the Trust for Conservation volunteers. Some trees on the northern
boundary have been crown-lifted in order let in more light.
After a consultation session for the local community and a visit from Sheffield Fruit Trees we
chose a variety of fruit trees. We paid careful attention to size, so most are on a semi-vigorous or
semi-dwarfing rootstock. They are either self-fertile or they are able to cross-pollinate, they flower
and fruit at different times and we believe that they will do well in this area. The majority are apple
trees but we have also planted pear, plum, damson, bullace, greengage, medlar and quince.
We have been overwhelmed by the generous donations from FoWP members and others, who
have enabled 17 fruit trees to be bought. These were planted on Monday 17 February. A list of the trees can be found here.
Community Orchard – Second Stage.
The second stage of the project included planting ‘step-over’
apples along new paths, plus a variety of soft fruit and herbs. Next year, with SCC’s permission,
we hope to get the remaining Leylandii removed so that we could
We bought:
- 4x Step-over apples,
- 1 x Shepherds Bullace (a wild plum),
- 2 x Crab Apple Evereste (for the new native hedge),
- 1 x Sweet Cherry (also for the new native hedge),
- Soft fruit – currants, gooseberries, raspberries and other berries.
Community Orchard – Third Stage
The fruit trees we put in at Stage 1 are all thriving, thanks to their careful planting and the mulch of
spent hops, though they remain too small to bear fruit this year. The veteran trees produced an
abundance of fruit which was collected, juiced and distributed to communities.
In November 2025, with help from Ecclesall scouts and university volunteers, we managed to
remove the remaining Leylandii hedge with a view to extending the native hedge along the
full length of the southern boundary. Volunteers from Gripple extended the boundary fence and
we then replanted the remainder of the hedgerow with 321 native plants, as listed below:
285 plug whips:
- English oak, Quercus robur
- Hawthorn, Crataegus
- Hazel, Corylus avellana
- Rowan, Sorbus aucuparia
- Silver birch, Betula pendula
36 bareroot:
- Alder Buckthorn, Frangulas alnus 5
- Guelder Rose, Viburnum opulus. 2
- Wayfaring Tree, Viburnum lantana. 2
- Spindle, Euonymus europeus 2
- Wild honeysuckle, Lonicera periclymenum 4
- Native privet, Ligustrum vulgare 5
- Native privet, Ligustrum vulgare 5
- Cherry plum, Prunus cerasifera 4
- Bird Cherry, prunus padus 4
- Common Pear, Pyrus communis 2
Plus 8 Interspersed standard fruit trees:
- Damson Tree – Shropshire Prune x2
- Prunus dulcis (Almond) – Prunus dulcis x2
- Native Black Bullace (Prunus insititia) – x2 (wild plum)
- Mazzard Cherry – Dun x 2 (wild cherry)
We also built four raised beds for soft fruit which will be planted in Spring 2026. The stepover
apples from Stage 2 remain to be sponsored.
We continue to clear invasive species such as the large leaved variegated lamium and we plan to sow meadow flower seed this year.
Herbs and Healing Plants
We have started a ‘Herbs and Healing Plants’ project, with the help of Sue Pitt a local medicinal
herbalist. We are currently learning about the traditional and current uses of the most important
plants and we hope to grow some of these on various sites in the orchard. Some may find a home
in the rest of the park too.
Open Morning
We are holding an Orchard Open Morning from 10 am to 12 noon on Saturday 6th June 2026,
when you can see how the orchard is progressing and find out more about healing plants.: