Frank P Matthews Featured in Country Life Magazine

We were delighted to welcome renowned gardening writer Charles Quest-Ritson and acclaimed photographer Clive Nichols to Frank P. Matthews for a feature in Country Life Magazine. Their article celebrates our 125-year history, our passion for fruit growing, and our growing reputation for outstanding ornamental trees.

RHS Chelsea Flower Show

The Country Life feature highlights our RHS Chelsea Flower Show display of flowering crab apples (Malus), described as one of the most memorable exhibits in the Great Pavilion. Led by Nick Dunn, the collection showcased the beauty, diversity and wildlife value of crab apple trees, which provide spectacular blossom, colourful autumn fruit and valuable nectar and pollen for pollinators

Five of the best ornamental Malus crab apples

Nick Dunn also shared his five favourite ornamental crab apples for today’s gardens:

‘Princeton Cardinal’ AGM A beautiful foliage and early-flowering tree up to 12ft high with large (1½in), deeppink, sumptuous flowers and nearblack leaves changing to dark crimson in summer. Vast quantities of deep-red, small fruit in early autumn.

‘Candymint Sargent’ Elegant 10ft tree with charming soft pink flowers (less than 1½in) on long stalks with darker petal edges. Long-lasting fruit— small, round, dark purple and very abundant. Good autumn colour.

‘Aros’ AGM A short (10ft), neat, upright tree with tiered branches and nearblack leaves (later purplish) and flowers of deep pink with white centres. Lots of long-lasting crimson crab apples in autumn. Excellent for small spaces.

‘Scarlet Brandywine’ Vigorous, healthy, rounded tree to 14ft with green leaves, tinged with red. The flowers are remarkable—fragrant, deep pink anddensely double—followed by large crops of round, bronzy fruit (diameter 1½in).

‘Comtesse de Paris’ AGM A fine tree, 17ft high and broad, with dark-pink buds, pure-white flowers and a handsome display of bright-yellow fruits well into the New Year. Good autumn colour.

Heritage

The article also explores the nursery’s fruit-growing heritage, including our work with celebrated apple breeder Hugh Ermen, whose introductions include ‘Scrumptious’, ‘Red Devil’ and ‘Herefordshire Russet’. Today, Frank P. Matthews continues to trial and introduce exciting new fruit varieties while producing over half a million trees annually.

Full Article

Beautifully illustrated by Clive Nichols’ photography, the feature captures the scale of the nursery, our orchards, trial grounds and ornamental collections, reflecting the expertise and dedication that have made Frank P. Matthews one of Britain’s leading tree nurseries.

Credit: Article published “Fruit Shoots”, Country Life, 28 October 2026, by Charles Quest-Ritson. Photography by Clive Nichols. www.countrylife.co.uk