A HERITAGE orchard is being planned as part of celebrations to mark the Queen’s platinum jubilee but will also act as a memorial garden for Teesdale people.
The orchard would feature 70 traditional varieties of fruit trees at TCR Hub, in Barnard Castle.
Suzanne Thomas, who is organising the project alongside head gardener Graham Moore, said: “I would like it to be an ‘orchard of abundance’ that honours our Teesdale ancestors – we want this to be a place where people can come, reflect and remember their loved ones.”
The orchard is being developed in the newly-formed heritage garden on the site of the old skate park. It will mirror existing tree planting but Mrs Thomas intends to plant small shrubs, herbaceous perennials, ground cover and climbers.
She added: “It is going to be a forest garden so there will be seven layers to the canopy. It is a method of recreating a natural wetland planting.”
The heritage orchard is also to be part of a national scheme – The Queen’s Green Canopy – which is encouraging people to plant trees to mark the years of her reign.
Trees have been sourced from a heritage supplier and people will be invited to purchase one in memory of a loved one and select one of the 70 spots for it to be planted. Each will have a plaque indicting who it is in memory of, but Mrs Thomas is also hoping to create a digital record.
Mrs Thomas added: “It really has got people excited and it is about planting for the future but remembering our past.” The first tree Mrs Thomas is purchasing will be in memory of her mother, Marie Yarker, who was well-known for her baking and her tireless charity work.
She added: “It’s going to be a Bramley apple tree because she made fantastic apple pies.
“We wanted to do this for everybody – the cost is not just for the tree. It will include planting and maintenance for its lifetime.”
For more information about the heritage orchard or to purchase a fruit tree, contact Mrs Thomas on 07792 383197.
