THE community orchard in Camelford is set to have a successful blossom this spring, thanks to recent maintenance.

The orchard was created in 2013 to commemorate the Queen’s diamond jubilee. There are 60 fruit trees, mostly apple but including plums and quince. Every year in February, the orchard’s trees are pruned, in order to encourage good fruit production and to keep the trees healthy.

Town councillors Claire Hewlett and Andy Shaw, along with grounds manager and horticultural apprentice John and Lisa, went to prune the trees on Wednesday, February 13.

Cllr Hewlett said: “You want to remove all the wood that is dead or diseased or any wood that is ‘crossing’ another branch as this will create a ‘rub’ damaging the bark on both branches, which allows disease to enter. It’s a big job, as you can imagine, with 60 trees — but there’s a team of us including myself, Cllr Andy Shaw, plus John our grounds manager and Lisa our horticultural apprentice.”

Cllr Hewlett added: “Now the trees have grown a bit, we’re hoping to encourage greater use of the orchard and make it a real community asset. It’s a lovely place to pause and contemplate life — it’s especially pretty when the blossom is out, about March to April time, depending on the weather.”