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Talk: Reviving the Medlar by Jane Steward

What do you know about the medlar? This engaging talk begins by exploring the audience’s awareness of this once-fashionable fruit before delving into its fascinating story. Discover the medlar’s original homeland, how it may have arrived in Britain, and the evidence of its early cultivation here. Once prized and widely grown, the medlar later fell out of favour — but why? The session examines its rich horticultural history, ornamental merits and the growing movement to restore it to its rightful place in our gardens and orchards. At Painshill, medlar trees can be found growing outside of the Kitchen Garden, offering visitors the chance to see these characterful trees within the wider landscape setting — a reminder of their historical presence in British gardens. Learn how to grow medlars successfully, including their form, seasonality and surprising resilience to pests and diseases. The intriguing process of harvesting and “bletting” will be explained, along with ideas for making the most of medlars in the kitchen. There will be fruit to taste, along with medlar jelly and chutney. Jane Steward is the founder of Eastgate Larder, a specialist business dedicated to reviving the overlooked medlar fruit, Mespilus germanica. Based in north Norfolk, she cares for a large medlar orchard that holds the UK’s Plant Heritage National Collection of medlar trees and hand-makes medlar preserves, including jelly and chutney, which are sold around the UK.