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The Heritage Fruit Garden in Summer: Stone Fruit Pruning for Health and Flavour. Saturday 27th June 2026.
In collaboration with Pennard Plants.
Join us at The Old Vicarage in Leigh-on-Mendip for a dedicated midsummer masterclass exploring the shaping, health and flavour potential of stone fruit. Set within our kitchen garden, the session draws on the rich plant collections established here in collaboration with Pennard Plants over the last six years. With mature examples and younger additions side by side, guests can see exactly how stone fruit behaves at each stage of development and learn how to care for trees in a range of real-world situations.
This course runs on Saturday 27th June, if you cannot make this date the course is repeated a few days earlier on Thursday 25th June 2026.
Led by celebrated plantsman Chris Smith of Pennard Plants, this one-day workshop blends clear theory in the classroom with hands-on practice in the garden, glasshouse and polytunnel. You will explore why summer is the only safe moment to prune plums, cherries, apricots, peaches and nectarines, how pruning influences flavour and airflow, and what to do through June, July and August to support healthy growth and reliable cropping. Expert tuition is suitable for complete beginners as well as those wishing to refine their pruning skills.
The day includes a session on sharpening and caring for your secateurs – please bring your favourites and a pair of gloves – along with a practical review of the different tools available for pruning and where each excels.
Every guest will leave with a goody bag and a stone fruit plant of their choice, selected to suit their own garden conditions.
Spaces are limited to eight guests and tend to book quickly, especially in midsummer when the garden is at its most productive.
What You Will Learn
Why summer is the only moment to prune plums, cherries, apricots, peaches and nectarines
How stone fruits respond to heat, water and sunlight
The physiology of summer pruning and how it improves flavour, colour and future cropping
How espalier, fan-trained and free-standing stone fruits behave in summer
How to net stone fruit safely and effectively
Under-cover management for peaches, nectarines, apricots, figs and grapes
Watering and feeding strategies that prevent split fruit and support ripening
Diagnosis of common summer problems and how to know when to intervene
How to manage canker, silver leaf, bacterial gumming and brown rot
How to manage canker, silver leaf, bacterial gumming and brown rot
A guided assessment of pruning tools and how to sharpen and care for secateurs
Practical hands-on sessions across plum, cherry, apricot, peach, fig and other undercover-grown fruit
Who This Course Is For
Ideal for gardeners of all levels. Whether you are new to growing stone fruit or keen to refine your approach, this course gives you the confidence and practical understanding to get the best from your trees.
Masterclass Details
Date: Saturday 27th June 2026
Time: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Location: The Old Vicarage, Leigh-upon-Mendip, Somerset
Pricing: £210 per person. A 10% discount is automatically applied at checkout when two or more guests book together.
Buying this as a gift? Let us know on the registration form at checkout and we can create a gift package for you, either emailed or posted to you directly.
Includes: Tuition, tools overview, all refreshments, seated lunch prepared from the garden, goody bag including vegetable seeds from Pennard Plant’s heritage range that you can sow in June and July for cropping summer 2026, and a stone fruit plant to take home.
About Pennard Plants
Pennard Plants, founded by award-winning plantsman Chris Smith, is celebrated for its extraordinary range of heritage edibles, rare cultivars, mature and young fruit trees in every form and time-honoured growing wisdom. Based in the Mendip Hills, the nursery holds one of the largest collections of edible plant varieties in the country and is known for its practical, generous approach to helping growers build confidence.
Your Hosts
This course is hosted by Neil Crump (Founder, Asterion & Co.) at The Old Vicarage in Leigh-upon-Mendip, a beautifully reimagined 16th-century farmhouse surrounded by a richly varied garden created in collaboration with experts including Pennard Plants.
Our guest team and gardening staff will be on hand throughout the day to offer guidance, hospitality and insight, bringing Asterion & Co.’s heritage-inspired learning philosophy into every corner of your visit. You will also meet our much-loved House Ducks, Daedalus and Xenodice, who add gentle mischief and charm to daily life here.
Having spent the day in the kitchen garden, glasshouse and polytunnel, the afternoon concludes with a gentle tour of the wider grounds, taking in luscious edible-ornamental beds, a formal rose garden, sweeping lawns, herb borders, a gravel garden and wilding areas. You’re then welcome to enjoy an optional game of pétanque (French boules) on our dedicated gravelled play area, surrounded by sculpted topiary and the calm of The Old Vicarage gardens.
In collaboration with Pennard Plants.
Join us at The Old Vicarage in Leigh-on-Mendip for a dedicated midsummer masterclass exploring the shaping, health and flavour potential of stone fruit. Set within our kitchen garden, the session draws on the rich plant collections established here in collaboration with Pennard Plants over the last six years. With mature examples and younger additions side by side, guests can see exactly how stone fruit behaves at each stage of development and learn how to care for trees in a range of real-world situations.
This course runs on Saturday 27th June, if you cannot make this date the course is repeated a few days earlier on Thursday 25th June 2026.
Led by celebrated plantsman Chris Smith of Pennard Plants, this one-day workshop blends clear theory in the classroom with hands-on practice in the garden, glasshouse and polytunnel. You will explore why summer is the only safe moment to prune plums, cherries, apricots, peaches and nectarines, how pruning influences flavour and airflow, and what to do through June, July and August to support healthy growth and reliable cropping. Expert tuition is suitable for complete beginners as well as those wishing to refine their pruning skills.
The day includes a session on sharpening and caring for your secateurs – please bring your favourites and a pair of gloves – along with a practical review of the different tools available for pruning and where each excels.
Every guest will leave with a goody bag and a stone fruit plant of their choice, selected to suit their own garden conditions.
Spaces are limited to eight guests and tend to book quickly, especially in midsummer when the garden is at its most productive.
What You Will Learn
Why summer is the only moment to prune plums, cherries, apricots, peaches and nectarines
How stone fruits respond to heat, water and sunlight
The physiology of summer pruning and how it improves flavour, colour and future cropping
How espalier, fan-trained and free-standing stone fruits behave in summer
How to net stone fruit safely and effectively
Under-cover management for peaches, nectarines, apricots, figs and grapes
Watering and feeding strategies that prevent split fruit and support ripening
Diagnosis of common summer problems and how to know when to intervene
How to manage canker, silver leaf, bacterial gumming and brown rot
How to manage canker, silver leaf, bacterial gumming and brown rot
A guided assessment of pruning tools and how to sharpen and care for secateurs
Practical hands-on sessions across plum, cherry, apricot, peach, fig and other undercover-grown fruit
Who This Course Is For
Ideal for gardeners of all levels. Whether you are new to growing stone fruit or keen to refine your approach, this course gives you the confidence and practical understanding to get the best from your trees.
Masterclass Details
Date: Saturday 27th June 2026
Time: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Location: The Old Vicarage, Leigh-upon-Mendip, Somerset
Pricing: £210 per person. A 10% discount is automatically applied at checkout when two or more guests book together.
Buying this as a gift? Let us know on the registration form at checkout and we can create a gift package for you, either emailed or posted to you directly.
Includes: Tuition, tools overview, all refreshments, seated lunch prepared from the garden, goody bag including vegetable seeds from Pennard Plant’s heritage range that you can sow in June and July for cropping summer 2026, and a stone fruit plant to take home.
About Pennard Plants
Pennard Plants, founded by award-winning plantsman Chris Smith, is celebrated for its extraordinary range of heritage edibles, rare cultivars, mature and young fruit trees in every form and time-honoured growing wisdom. Based in the Mendip Hills, the nursery holds one of the largest collections of edible plant varieties in the country and is known for its practical, generous approach to helping growers build confidence.
Your Hosts
This course is hosted by Neil Crump (Founder, Asterion & Co.) at The Old Vicarage in Leigh-upon-Mendip, a beautifully reimagined 16th-century farmhouse surrounded by a richly varied garden created in collaboration with experts including Pennard Plants.
Our guest team and gardening staff will be on hand throughout the day to offer guidance, hospitality and insight, bringing Asterion & Co.’s heritage-inspired learning philosophy into every corner of your visit. You will also meet our much-loved House Ducks, Daedalus and Xenodice, who add gentle mischief and charm to daily life here.
Having spent the day in the kitchen garden, glasshouse and polytunnel, the afternoon concludes with a gentle tour of the wider grounds, taking in luscious edible-ornamental beds, a formal rose garden, sweeping lawns, herb borders, a gravel garden and wilding areas. You’re then welcome to enjoy an optional game of pétanque (French boules) on our dedicated gravelled play area, surrounded by sculpted topiary and the calm of The Old Vicarage gardens.