I have received some fascinating information from Derek and Judy Tolman, Bernwode nursery (November 2015) as a result of my earlier article on Lady's Finger of Bledington. Derek writes that about fifteen years ago he received scionwood of Black Gilliflower from the USDA collection in Geneva, USA. This apple is identical to Lady's Finger of Bledington. Derek believes that the apple has English origins and was taken out to America by settlers. He has not yet discovered any written historical record of the variety in England, but the apple was known in America as early as the 1770's-1780's and Derek suggests that the apple was possibly being grown in England in the 1600's.
A superb piece of detective work!
Hello - do you mind if we reproduce your picture of the Lady's Finger of Bledington apple on the www.bledingtonshop.com website. We are planning to produce a local gin flavoured with this apple for our community-owned shop. We will link back to this site in the credit. Thank you Ben
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