Following the planting of 71 apple trees in the newly-created Pleasley Community Orchard, its friends group invited orchard expert John Starkey, of Starkey’s Fruit Farm, Southwell, to give ideas for making sure the trees will bear fruit for the community.

Following a presentation on how apple trees develop, John showed management techniques necessary to ensure their correct shape and maximise productivity in the future.

Volunteers had a go themselves and pruned 22 apple and 15 pear trees.

The Friends Of Pleasley Community Orchard invited the community to attend as well as fellow friends groups from the Friends Of Greenwood Community Forum.

Trees in the orchard were planted as memorials to loved ones. Local resident Andrea Stanforth attended to find out how to best prune her Discovery apple tree — a memorial to her late grandmother Betty Moore.

Andrea was keen for sons, Adam, Daniel and Jake and her partner’s son, Daly, to find out how to look after the tree for future generations.

Andrea said: “It’s important for me to have this tree as a memorial and I have had a plaque inscribed with part of a poem my grandma wrote to granddad while he was away at war in 1942, about meeting again under a shady tree.”

Matt Arnold, chairman of the Pleasley Community Orchard, said: “This was an excellent kick start to the Friends of Pleasley Orchard’s gardening group, which takes place each second Saturday of the month, and we look forward to welcoming others from our local community to dig in and help bring this wonderful place to even more fruition.

Pictured is Andrea Stanforth pruning her apple tree, watched by Matt Arnold, left, and her sons, Adam, Daniel and Jake.