Places are limited and each course is carefully prepared. We encourage you to review our Terms & Conditions before booking. By booking, you agree to them and to the principles that shape our courses.
Seated lunch | Afternoon tea | Small-group
Led by Chris Smith, Founder of Pennard Plants, with heritage context from Neil Crump, Founder of Asterion & Co.
Learn how to prune and manage stone fruit for health, flavour and reliable cropping.
Work directly with plums, cherries, apricots, peaches and nectarines in productive summer conditions.
Take home a stone fruit plant selected for your own garden and growing space.
𐡷𐫱𐡸
Spend the day moving between orchard, kitchen garden and protected growing spaces in this immersive midsummer pruning masterclass at The Old Vicarage.
Working directly with mature and developing fruit trees, you’ll explore why summer is the critical moment for pruning stone fruit and how thoughtful intervention influences airflow, vigour, ripening and flavour. The focus throughout is on practical understanding, careful observation and confident seasonal care.
Guided by Chris Smith’s deep horticultural knowledge, the day combines clear theory with hands-on demonstration across plums, cherries, apricots, peaches, nectarines, figs and other under-cover fruit. You’ll learn how to read growth patterns, recognise common problems and support healthier, more productive trees.
Asterion & Co. will frame the day with a short contextual session exploring the heritage of stone fruit cultivation in British kitchen gardens and glasshouses, from trained orchard walls to productive Victorian fruit collections.
If you are unable to attend this June date, this masterclass will be repeated on Thursday 25th June
What you will learn
Understand why summer is the safest and most effective time to prune stone fruit
Improve fruit flavour, colour and future cropping through pruning
Manage plums, cherries, apricots, peaches and nectarines with confidence
Recognise and respond to canker, silver leaf, bacterial gumming and brown rot
Support healthy ripening through watering, feeding and airflow management
Care for and sharpen pruning tools correctly
How the day unfolds
Warm welcome and introduction
Contextual session on the heritage of stone fruit cultivation
Guided exploration of orchard and protected fruit collections
Demonstrations in pruning, shaping and fruit assessment
Hands-on practical sessions across multiple fruit types
Tool overview and secateur sharpening session
Seated seasonal lunch and time to pause
Afternoon troubleshooting and seasonal care discussions
Closing guidance for applying techniques at home
What you’ll leave with
A stone fruit plant selected for your garden conditions
Greater confidence pruning and managing stone fruit
Practical understanding of seasonal fruit care
Guidance on pruning tools and maintenance
A curated selection of heritage vegetable seeds from Pennard Plants
𐡷𐫱𐡸
Workshop Details
Date: Saturday 27th June 2026
Alternate option: Thursday 25th June 2026
Time: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Location: The Old Vicarage, Leigh-on-Mendip, Somerset
Price: £210 per person
Includes: Full tuition, pruning demonstrations, tools overview, refreshments throughout the day, a seated seasonal lunch, a goody bag including heritage seeds from Pennard Plants, and a stone fruit plant to take home
Booking terms
By booking, you are entering into an agreement with Asterion & Co. in accordance with our Terms & Conditions, including our cancellation policy and course guidelines.
This masterclass combines Chris Smith’s practical expertise in productive fruit growing with Asterion’s Heritage-Inspired Learning™ approach, creating a thoughtful and hands-on exploration of midsummer orchard care.
About Chris Smith
Chris Smith is the founder of Pennard Plants, one of the UK’s leading nurseries for heritage and edible plants. For over two decades, he has specialised in varieties selected for flavour, resilience and character, with a particular passion for productive fruit growing.
Known for his practical teaching style and depth of horticultural knowledge, Chris helps gardeners understand how to work successfully with plants across season, structure and environment.
Learn more about Chris and Pennard Plants in The Asterion Journal.
Need accommodation nearby?
Click here for a list of places to stay overnight before or after your course that we know well and would recommend.
Places are limited and each course is carefully prepared. We encourage you to review our Terms & Conditions before booking. By booking, you agree to them and to the principles that shape our courses.
Seated lunch | Afternoon tea | Small-group
Led by Chris Smith, Founder of Pennard Plants, with heritage context from Neil Crump, Founder of Asterion & Co.
Learn how to prune and manage stone fruit for health, flavour and reliable cropping.
Work directly with plums, cherries, apricots, peaches and nectarines in productive summer conditions.
Take home a stone fruit plant selected for your own garden and growing space.
𐡷𐫱𐡸
Spend the day moving between orchard, kitchen garden and protected growing spaces in this immersive midsummer pruning masterclass at The Old Vicarage.
Working directly with mature and developing fruit trees, you’ll explore why summer is the critical moment for pruning stone fruit and how thoughtful intervention influences airflow, vigour, ripening and flavour. The focus throughout is on practical understanding, careful observation and confident seasonal care.
Guided by Chris Smith’s deep horticultural knowledge, the day combines clear theory with hands-on demonstration across plums, cherries, apricots, peaches, nectarines, figs and other under-cover fruit. You’ll learn how to read growth patterns, recognise common problems and support healthier, more productive trees.
Asterion & Co. will frame the day with a short contextual session exploring the heritage of stone fruit cultivation in British kitchen gardens and glasshouses, from trained orchard walls to productive Victorian fruit collections.
If you are unable to attend this June date, this masterclass will be repeated on Thursday 25th June
What you will learn
Understand why summer is the safest and most effective time to prune stone fruit
Improve fruit flavour, colour and future cropping through pruning
Manage plums, cherries, apricots, peaches and nectarines with confidence
Recognise and respond to canker, silver leaf, bacterial gumming and brown rot
Support healthy ripening through watering, feeding and airflow management
Care for and sharpen pruning tools correctly
How the day unfolds
Warm welcome and introduction
Contextual session on the heritage of stone fruit cultivation
Guided exploration of orchard and protected fruit collections
Demonstrations in pruning, shaping and fruit assessment
Hands-on practical sessions across multiple fruit types
Tool overview and secateur sharpening session
Seated seasonal lunch and time to pause
Afternoon troubleshooting and seasonal care discussions
Closing guidance for applying techniques at home
What you’ll leave with
A stone fruit plant selected for your garden conditions
Greater confidence pruning and managing stone fruit
Practical understanding of seasonal fruit care
Guidance on pruning tools and maintenance
A curated selection of heritage vegetable seeds from Pennard Plants
𐡷𐫱𐡸
Workshop Details
Date: Saturday 27th June 2026
Alternate option: Thursday 25th June 2026
Time: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Location: The Old Vicarage, Leigh-on-Mendip, Somerset
Price: £210 per person
Includes: Full tuition, pruning demonstrations, tools overview, refreshments throughout the day, a seated seasonal lunch, a goody bag including heritage seeds from Pennard Plants, and a stone fruit plant to take home
Booking terms
By booking, you are entering into an agreement with Asterion & Co. in accordance with our Terms & Conditions, including our cancellation policy and course guidelines.
This masterclass combines Chris Smith’s practical expertise in productive fruit growing with Asterion’s Heritage-Inspired Learning™ approach, creating a thoughtful and hands-on exploration of midsummer orchard care.
About Chris Smith
Chris Smith is the founder of Pennard Plants, one of the UK’s leading nurseries for heritage and edible plants. For over two decades, he has specialised in varieties selected for flavour, resilience and character, with a particular passion for productive fruit growing.
Known for his practical teaching style and depth of horticultural knowledge, Chris helps gardeners understand how to work successfully with plants across season, structure and environment.
Learn more about Chris and Pennard Plants in The Asterion Journal.
Need accommodation nearby?
Click here for a list of places to stay overnight before or after your course that we know well and would recommend.
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