It was only when the builders were gone and tranquility had been restored to the olive groves and vineyards around our Abruzzo villas that we began to fully appreciate how rich the area was in wildlife.

(Birds, butterflies, foxes and hares all share our Abruzzo garden. Click on the main headline title above to read about them – and see their pictures !)

Back in May, I wrote about our vegetable plot. Now, belatedly, it’s time to run the rule over the orchard.

The Italian word for orchard is frutetto. Nicer I think. The frutetto is about 250 square meters and like the veggie plot – or orto – faces due south.

English varieties predominate. Are they suited to a central Italian climate ? Only one way to find out…

(Click on the main headline title above and be transported to the sun-baked soil of central Italy, where you’ll discover our Abruzzo garden’s fruity secrets…)

It took a while for Abruzzo bees to cotton-on to the fact that they were the key element in pollinating the flowers, but once they’d grasped this, we had the start of a promising crop.

(Nothing beats your own home-grown fruit’n'veg. Read about the first season in our Abruzzo veggie plot…)