Fruit trees grown in the garden yield rewards throughout the year. Their flowers are often one of the first signs that spring has well and truly arrived, and the dark winter days are behind us. Many fruit trees, such as apples, pears and cherries are more than a match for any ornamental flowering tree. Then of course there’s the fruit. Picking an apple fresh from the tree has to be one of autumn’s greatest pleasures.

There is a staggeringly wide selection of fruit trees to grow in your garden, from the humble apple or pear to the more exotic looking mulberry, medlar and quince. You don’t need to own a large orchard to grow fruit trees. Thanks to the dwarfing root stocks many fruit trees are grafted onto and the wide range of styles such as bush, fan-trained, step-over, cordon or espalier, even the smallest of gardens will be able to accommodate at least one.