First apples of the season are ready to eat

It's three weeks before you'd expect in a normal year but our Beauty of Bath apples are now piling up in our fruit basket. And they're available for guests to sink their teeth into.

Beauty of Bath is about the first apple to ripen, usually in mid-August, and has to be eaten more or less immediately, which we're not complaining about. The apple has an exquisite taste - fairly acid but with plenty of sweetness when fully ripe. It was introduced near Bath in 1864.

The next variety to be ready at Orchid Meadows will be Emneth Early, probably in late August, the way things are going. It's officially a cooker but will be juiced for storage until the darkest days of winter.

As well as dessert apples, guests at Orchid Meadows can tuck into a range of organically grown produce, including French beans, shallots, potatoes, edible flowers, courgettes, cucumbers, lettuce and herbs.