Nursery bed

Before I get onto the nursery bed, here's how the final cross-plot path is looking.

I've filled a bit with bark chippings and finished the junction with the path through the fruit area.

I've done only one side of the fruit path and three bricks of the other side, but you can get the idea. The stomped grass in the pathway is about 10cm higher than the final path will be, so I feel quite high when standing on it (it's also higher than the concrete area). There's quite a large drop where the small slab is (in the foreground) where I carved out some of the turf.

On to the nursery bed. John (my plot-mate in 65a) donated some blackcurrant cuttings, which are about 90cm long. He got an established bush from his father-in-law who pruned it and suggested using the trimmings. I've put them in a new nursery bed, which used to be covered by a messy compost heap. It's right next to the apples at the end of the concrete area.

I've also put two cuttings from the quince tree in the bed on the off chance that they'll take (they are at the back right). My hope is that they'll be successful and give me a chance to try out an experiment in grafting. The theory goes like this:

• Quinces are often used as stock for pear grafts.
• Pears can also be grafted onto hawthorn (do you see where this is going?).
• Therefore, quinces can be grafted onto hawthorn.

Of course horticultural techniques rarely follow such general rules, no matter how logical. However, I'm going to give it a go as I may have spare quince buds (it's bud grafting that's required) and have a hawthron hedge that could be jazzed up with quince branches.