Traditional orchards were once a common feature of the landscape. Since the 1950s, more than 60% of English fruit orchards have disappeared; Wales has lost more than 90%.

This autumn is expected to see the best British apple crop for seven years, yet in common with previous harvests, some 65% of apples sold here will be imported — even at the height of the English apple season. Most will arrive on ships from thousands of miles away.

If you have a garden, even a small one, you can help to reverse this trend by planting a fruit tree. Winter is a good time to do it, so now is the moment to make plans. Apples and pears are the most widely cultivated fruit trees, but you could also go for plum, cherry or mulberry.

The key to growing a fruit tree in your garden is to pick one that will be the correct size and produce fruit that’s to your taste. In our city garden, we have two wonderfully gnarled, ancient ‘Newton Wonder’ apple trees, an old Derbyshire variety. We think they predate the building of our Edwardian house.

The blossom is beautiful and the old wood supports many insects. It also attracts woodpeckers, both green and great spotted. Early windfalls can be cooked and, on storing, they sweeten and make excellent eaters. We leave a few fallers on the ground, as they attract blackbirds and song thrushes.

Think about how big you want the tree to be. The final size will be determined by the variety of root stock. If space is limited, they can even thrive in large pots. Special varieties can be trained against a sunny wall or trellis to provide a striking feature.

Most trees will require pollen from another one to produce fruit. Planting two trees, so they pollinate each other, will solve this problem.

In most suburban areas, there is likely to be another suitable tree nearby. If your neighbours have fruit trees, find out when they flower and chose a variety that can be pollinated from theirs.

You can do your bit to perpetuate fruit-tree diversity by planting an old variety — many nurseries now sell a range of traditional and local trees.

Tony Juniper is an environmental campaigner and former director of Friends of the Earth; tonyjuniper.com

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