Scientifically known as Prunus armeniaca, Apricots are a kind of stone fruit. They closely resemble peaches in appearance and nutritional value but there are a few things that, of course, set them apart. Apricots are often beloved for their health benefits, sweet flavors, and vibrant appearance. Consuming home-grown fruits as compared to the commercial, store-bought ones is always a delight. So, why not grow those that bring multiple health benefits to the table with them!

With a bit of care and attention, you can successfully grow your own sweet and delicious apricots in the UK - here we show you how.

Apricots (Prunus armeniaca) are small, pitted fruit, about the size of a golf ball. They are similar in appearance to a small peach and have a very light fuzz on the skin. They range in color from pale orange to deep saffron, often with a tinge of pink or red blush.

The fruits are drupes with a large flat pit, or stone, within which is the seed. Similar in shape to a peach, the fruit is nearly smooth, round to oblong in some varieties, and somewhat flattened but with little to no hairiness when ripe. Its flesh is typically a rich yellow to yellowish orange.

Apricots tend to bloom very early so the blossoms are killed by early spring frosts. They grow best in deep, fertile, well-drained soil. They are not recommended for northern Illinois.

It is important to harvest fruits at the proper stage of maturity in order to maintain their nutrients as well as their quality and freshness. Factors that favor conserving quality and nutrients are: rapid harvesting, preferably done early in the day; prompt cooling; gentle handling; and proper storage if the fruit is not used immediately. Tree fruits (except pears) develop maximum flavor and quality when allowed to mature on the tree. All of the fruits on a tree do not mature simultaneously. To obtain maximum quality, therefore, several pickings are frequently necessary.

That is someone who goes to the first blueberry bush they see and yanks off a handful of berries without regard to whether they are all ripe or not.

I grew up canoeing in the wilds of Maine and Quebec every summer, and developed an early addiction to wild blueberries. We would paddle from island to island where high-bush berries hung heavy from rock outcroppings in the cold massive lakes. I swear they were bigger than I’ve seen since, and I still dream of effortlessly running my hand through the leaves and coming out with a handful of plump berries.

The term “superfood” is used to describe foods that are particularly nutrient-dense and believed to provide health benefits beyond their basic nutritional content. Superfoods have exceptional health-promoting properties due to their high levels of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, or other beneficial compounds. Because blueberries are low in calories but high in nutrients. Although the nutrient content of regular blueberries and wild blueberries varies a bit, they’re both tasty, nutritious, and a healthy addition to your diet.

Blueberries, those small, sweet, and slightly tangy orbs of goodness, have captured the hearts and taste buds of people worldwide. Over the years, we’ve gotten a lot of questions about blueberries, so we thought we’d pull together a guide to answer some of the most popular questions. Here’s everything you need to know about blueberries, from their seasonality and storage to their acidity, their tiny seeds, and even whether your furry friends can savor them. Enjoy!

Blueberries have long been celebrated for their delightful taste. But what’s even more remarkable is their potential to boost brain health. That’s right, it turns out blueberries are powerhouses of nutrition that can benefit your cognitive function, memory, and overall brain well-being. Read on to explore the connection between blueberries and the brain—all backed by science.

BLUEBERRIES AND METABOLIC HEALTH: A DYNAMIC DUO The favorable effects of blueberries on metabolic health have been extensively studied and documented across diverse population groups. Whether you have metabolic syndrome, are at risk for hypertension, struggle with obesity, or are simply striving to maintain overall health, blueberries offer a versatile and delicious way to promote whole-body wellness. 

My favorite place to visit in the world is Italy. I cannot get enough of the history, art, architecture, food, and landscape. All over Italy, fruit trees are growing. Many Italians have their own olive, lemon, and lime trees growing outside on their verandas and herbs growing on windowsills.

The wild American persimmon, is a native fruit that is ready to harvest in autumn and even early winter. Here’s how to identify, gather, and eat wild persimmons. Our native persimmon tree’s luscious fruits are ready to harvest in late fall and early winter, long after most other fruit crops are done. Wild persimmons (Diospyros virginiana) are smaller than their commercially grown cousins, but just as delicious.

Apricots are delicious soft tree fruits that are surprisingly easy to grow at home when the climate is right. Prunus armeniaca var. armeniaca is known not only for its fruit but also as a valuable specimen landscaping tree featuring glorious early spring blossoms and mid-summer shade.

Among fruit trees, the apricot tree is one of the easiest to grow. With patience and good care, you’ll have access to juicy fruit in spring and summer. It starts as a little tree, and quickly branches into a lovely arching structure with sweet-smelling blooms after a few years. Apricots are great stone fruits for a home orchard. One is great for your very own apricot tree guild too. You might think you live outside the range of apricot tree growing, but you might be surprised. Several varieties have cold hardiness built in. It will take a few years for a baby apricot to set fruit, but you’ll eat fresh if you hang in there. You may find you have plenty of baby trees to give to friends at that point too! When it comes to fruit trees, apricot is prolific. That means apricot tree growing can be easy.

It’s raining persimmons (Diospyros virginiana) here, and I know the trees are mocking me. I put so much effort into my apple trees, with careful pruning and repeated spraying of various organic concoctions, and what do those trees offer in return? Little. Sometimes nothing. This is admittedly a bad site for growing apples in terms of late frosts, damp air, and proximity to woods that harbor apple pests. The persimmons, though, I do practically nothing for them. Yet the fruit comes raining down, more than we can eat.

Black raspberries vs blackberries — how do they compare? What’s the difference between blackberries and black raspberries? Or the similarity? What about all of the other blackberry lookalikes? Who’s who? Sorting through the (sometimes very slight) differences among these members of the Rubus genus requires a little patience and a few botanical definitions. To begin with…

Prized by initiated berry lovers and discerning wild food foragers, Japanese Wineberries (Rubus phoenicolasius) are native to China and Japan, but their unique beauty has graced formal British gardens for centuries. Although the historical introduction of Wineberries to North America is not definitive, most likely they were planted in early European settlements in the Northeast, where in some areas, they are regarded as invasive plants. Left to their own devices, Wineberries can form a dense thicket, but when properly pruned and maintained, Wineberries make a beautiful and delicious statement plant for the all-season home garden. Graceful arched canes are especially beautiful in winter gardens.

As a child, I recall harvesting blackberries with my sisters and cousins along an abandoned railroad track. We had a few scary moments when we unsettled snakes. (In reality those snakes were probably moving as fast as possible, trying to get away from all of our noise and feet.) And we would return home with scratches all over our arms and hands, but with buckets full of juicy berries for mom to make into jelly and delicious cobblers.

The best characteristics of a dozen species of native Rubus species are represented in modern blackberry varieties. Dependable and easy to grow in Zones 6 to 9, several new primocane blackberries (which bear on new canes in late summer) produce good crops in Zone 5. Among the most nutritious food crops you can grow, blackberry plants begin bearing a year after planting, and continue to produce for many years with minimal care.

Many fruit trees — including semidwarf varieties — can easily grow to 15 feet and taller. Anyone who has tried to manage one of these large trees in a backyard will instantly appreciate the value of small fruit trees: They require less space, are easy to care for, and produce fruit in manageable quantities. Growing compact trees allows you to tuck more varieties of fruit into corners of your property or a small orchard, and means you can choose those varieties by flavor and climate adaptability rather than by tree size. Nearly any standard and semidwarf tree — from pears, peaches and plums to apples and apricots — can be trained to stay much more compact. Learn how to prune fruit trees to keep them small.

Apples, pears and some other tree fruits will naturally drop their fruits in early summer during the so-called ‘June drop’, but further thinning by the gardener can improve the quality of the harvest. Thinning out fruits prevents them from rubbing together, which can cause wounds that provide entry points for diseases such rot. It also avoids the phenomenon known a ‘biennial bearing’, where trees crop heavily one year, only to produce very few fruits the next. Some fruits, especially plums, can become too heavy if they aren’t thinned out, with the result that branches may not be able to take the strain and will snap.

There’s nothing quite as refreshing as the taste of lemon. Whether it’s freshly squeezed lemonade or a lemon juice squeezed on your favorite seafood dish, the taste and aromatic scent of this citrus fruit is delightful. Wouldn’t it be nice to just grab a ripe lemon from a tree in your own garden instead of having to run to the grocery store whenever you get the craving for this delicious fruit?

he lemon tree (Citrus limon) is like the sunshine incarnate in the form of a plant. It is a small to medium-sized evergreen tree or shrub with glossy green leaves and fragrant white blossoms. The tree is known for its thorny branches, which protect its precious fruit. Lemons are oval, bright yellow fruits with a thick zest and juicy, tart pulp. They’re packed with vitamin C and possess a distinct, refreshing aroma.

Lemons are ready to harvest when they turn a yellowish green or a solid yellow color, they are firm to the touch, and they are about 2 to 3 inches in size. When it comes to harvesting, the size of the fruit is more important than the color. If you pick lemons before the reach an adequate size, even if they are yellow or greenish yellow, they won’t be as juicy and they’re likely to be extremely sour.

The best time to plant lemon trees is in early spring, either in the ground or in a pot in full sun. They are not very cold tolerant and should only be planted in the ground in USDA Zones 9 and above. Water soon after planting to establish a strong root system and adopt a regular feeding routine after about a year of growth. Prune correctly for the best possible harvest each season.

Incorporate edible landscape plants for a beautiful and delicious garden. Common fruit options are backyard fruit trees, shrubs, and vines. To determine the best plants for your site, you’ll want to consider several factors, including your desired yield and ornamental qualities, along with your particular location’s hardiness zone and available pollination (some plants need other plants nearby for pollination).

Have you ever wondered why most plants have a dominant shoot that rises higher above the others? It’s all about raging hormones. You can use this to your advantage if you want to modify the shape of a plant through pruning. “Apical dominance” is the term scientists use to describe why plants reach for the sky. Apical dominance is the result of auxin (AWK-sin), a hormone that’s produced in the tips of plants’ growing shoots or at the high point of their stems. Auxin travels down each stem and sets off a chain reaction that puts the brakes, to some degree, on growth of side shoots, giving the uppermost growing point (the apical point) of the stem the upper hand in growth.

As a kid, I was never fond of lima beans, but as I came to know more about the heirloom varieties and the wide range of tastes and textures that make them so special, I learned that the mealy mush balls sold frozen in supermarkets (or worse, the ones from cans) just don’t make the grade. Of all the heirloom bush limas still available today, ‘Jackson Wonder’ is one of the hardiest and most visually attractive. Best of all, it has a meaty flavor more like a baking bean than a lima, so it has a versatility that sets it apart.

The best way to appreciate the berry some cultures call “the fruit of paradise” is to taste it. With up to 83 aromatic notes, pomegranate’s flavor profile combines the syrupy sweetness of Concord grapes, the refreshing astringency of cranberries, and the cooling quality of lemons. Each bite pops like tapioca. The easiest way to try it yourself? Growing pomegranate trees.