There is so much more to fruit than the usual suspects seen on supermarket shelves. There could be as many as 3000 cultivars of apple, for instance. Heritage fruits are every bit as interesting as heirloom vegetables, with a fascinating variety of colours, shapes, tastes and culinary uses. Many of them are great performers for domestic gardens and still available if you know where to look. Simon Rickard will take you through the ins and outs of how to get your hands on them and how to get them growing productively in your school garden.

Simon Rickard, gardener and plantsman, is best known in the industry as the former Head Gardener of the Diggers Club, where he oversaw the gardens at Heronswood and the Garden of St Erth until 2009. More recently Simon has worked as a market gardener for restaurateur and food icon Annie Smithers, growing bespoke produce for her eponymous Bistrot in Kyneton. Simon is a botanical guide for Botanica World Discoveries and runs his own garden consultancy and coaching business. His first book, The New Ornamental Garden, was released in 2011 and he has a second title on its way in 2014.