Edible timber trees

great to Now we come to the edible timber trees, and arrive full circle at the start of our orchard diversity story. Some of the best figured, hardest, shiniest-grained woods are ‘fruit woods’ provided by cherry, apple and pear trees.

Trees grown from pips are often more vigorous and faster growing than cultivated grafted varieties, so the odd pear seedling can provide both internal shelter and eventually wonderful wood for carving. The rudders of Venetian gondolas are made from pear wood.

Apple is also one of the planet’s best firewoods. Citrus timber is extremely hard, great for fine marquetry. Peach wood is great for smoking fish.

Olives, loquats, avocados (poisonous to animals) all have excellent timber properties too, and all handle coastal winds with a little shelter. Loquats fruit easily but the other two are reluctant to fruit where there is frost, even though the trees will survive.