The best fruit trees to plant in your French garden

When we were looking for our first house in France, every one had fruit trees in the garden, and estate agents stressed the importance and value of these to the property. 

We were house-hunting in early August, so many trees were groaning under the abundance of summer fruit. I remember gorging on mirabelles in the Charente and, when we eventually found the house we wanted, the owner invited us to help ourselves to the figs on our second viewing. 

We spent an afternoon sitting in the fields eating the most luscious white figs imaginable and, without ever having fully seen the inside of all the outbuildings, put in an offer. 

We spent 10 happy years there and appreciated the many mature fruit and nut trees we had acquired. Inevitably, we added quite a few ourselves.

The value of existing fruit trees when you buy a property is, of course, that they are mature and already producing a crop. If you plant some yourselves you usually have to wait at least a couple of years for any appreciable return. 

So, what are the most iconic fruit trees to plant in your French garden – and, if you can only be here for a few months each summer, what will be in fruit during your holidays? 

France is a vast country, with several distinct climate zones. This will obviously affect your choice, but below are a few of my favourites.

Read more: French strawberries: the best varieties and when to eat them

First and foremost: figs. This is partly because of our experience buying our original house, but also because they are ripe in mid- to late-summer, are redolent of sun-drenched climates and they look exotic. 

There are over 700 varieties of fig tree, but only a small proportion are grown in domestic situations and some taste better than others. We have a green and a black fig. The black is undeniably the best. If you buy a young tree go to a reputable pépiniériste and seek their advice. 

Another thing to know about figs is that the fruit is also the flower. It is pollinated by a dedicated species of fig wasp entering the fig via a tiny hole at its base. 

If you are planting a fig tree be aware that when the fruit is ripe the tree can become besieged by hornets, so plant judiciously.

Other summer spectaculars are the peach, nectarine and apricot. They are closely related and can interbreed to create new sub-species or varieties. 

We love to buy flat peaches at our local market in summer, along with brugnons, a variety of nectarine prized in the region for their flavour.

Finally, I have to mention the quince. You can grow them in the UK, of course, but here they grow like weeds and will rapidly give a mature feel to your garden. 

The perfume when you add them to the fruit bowl – or to a casserole, a cake or even, when poached, to your morning bowl of muesli – is sublime. 

Poach them in syrup with some cinnamon sticks and star anise then put them in the freezer. Bringing them out in the depths of winter will transport you back to a French summer.