All are welcome to come along and enjoy the orchard at our public events: Wassail in January, Summer Orchard Open Day in June, and Apple Day in October.
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Autumn 2025 – Events – Workshops – Courses
Apple Day
Sunday 19 October, 2pm to 4.30pm
Sharing our love of growing fruits trees since 1998
Celebrating the joy and energy of the apple harvest. HOCO grafted trees for sale. Fresh-pressed apple juice and home made cake!
Read how national Apple Day began in 1990
Our public events raise funds for HOCO through the sale of homemade cake, orchard-grown juice, and our own grafted fruit trees. Orchard lovers are invited to support the orchard by joining us as a Friend of HOCO.
Fruit Trees for Sale October 2025
We graft our favourite HOCO trees to raise funds for the orchard – and to turn Bristol into an orchard city.
* Here’s the list of Fruit Trees for Sale 2025
*Order here: HOCO Fruit Trees Order Form
“If I knew the world would end tomorrow, I would still plant new apple trees today.”
Fruitful Futures –
a climate resilience action project
Starting Saturday 14 June, 2025
Dates: Saturdays 14 June; 13 September; 8 November; 7 February (2026)
Plus: extra time for research and hands-on sessions – as needed
Times (to be confirmed): Co-learning session – 12pm-1.30pm, followed by Orchard Action session – 2.30pm-4.30pm
Design and lay the groundwork to plant and grow new fruit trees in uncertain times. Co-create an experimental, action research project in a community environment. Beginning with questions about: soil; unpredictable and extreme weather patterns; how to share knowledge with future growers. Seeking solutions that are low-tech, low-cost, joyful, and diverse.
Bring your hands, head, humour, and heart to this project. Recommended for participants with some previous growing experience, and an open mind, who wish to take action at the grassroots.
Course fee: £70 (HOCO Harvest-share member); £100 (Friend of HOCO)
We are open to new applications for this rolling, action-based programme.
The application process includes an informal phone chat.
Get in touch about Fruitful Futures here.
Growing Season Pruning workshops
Developed for HOCO members to boost pruning skills and confidence through guided working with Tree Buddies and beloved HOCO trees.
Contact us for more information.
Weather is a factor! Some flexibility around the time (and day) is helpful.
- HOCO members: £5
- Sign up link: https://forms.gle/NC6H7cfHJuWJ6N6i7
Seasonal Orchard Workouts
Free for HOCO members.
Non-members welcome (suggested donation £5).
Cheaper than a fitness class and doing good work in a community food growing project!
Spring blows in with groundworking, mulching, dry hedging, blossom and birdsong. Hands-on action sessions for a mega dose of daylight and green exercise. Activities range in intensity – there’s something for all abilities (and most ages).
We are growing our community of supporters by signing up new Friends of the Orchard. Joining HOCO as a Friend of the Orchard for costs £30 a year – less than gym membership for one month.
Get in touch for news of future Orchard Action sessions.
Seasonal Pruning courses at HOCO
More information about 2025 Pruning Courses on the Orchard Learning page
Community Events & Celebrations – 2025
Summer Orchard Open Day – Saturday 7 June 2025, 2pm to 5pm
Festival of Nature Community event
Supported by the Natural History Consortium and Avon Wildlife Trust
Have a Grow 2025!
Organised by Social Farms & Gardens
Enjoy the new pollinator-friendly areas planted in 2024 as part of our community pollinator project, Bee Active, Bee Fruitful! Find out simple ways to enrich food sources for wild pollinators in urban gardens and allotments. How many different kinds of pollinators can you see in the orchard on the day?
All our public events raise funds for HOCO through the sale of homemade cake, refreshments, plants, preserves and produce. New! Table Top sale of bric-a-brac, tools, and books on food, cooking, gardening, horticultre, and nature. Please bring cash!
If you love the orchard, and value our work, please support HOCO by joining as a Friend of the Orchard on the day.
Summer Open Day Workshops
Fundraising-by-donation
Please donate £5
Art in the Orchard led by Julian Gregg. Changing seasons and human activity inspire Julian’s watercolours, drawings and prints. All budding artists are welcome to enjoy this friendly plein air session. Bring your own art making materials, along with drinking water. Drop-in from 3pm to 5pm.
Summer Fruit Tree Care – led by Shannon Smith aka The Apple Tree Lady. New roots, shoots, and fruits are growing fast! The whole orchard ecology is alive and hungry for life. This session is a practical introduction to insects and diseases that feed on our trees. It also covers mulching and water matters, and when and how to thin excess fruit and new growth.
1-hour session – 2.30pm – 3.30pm. Places limited.
Please book in advance: https://tinyurl.com/SummerFruitTreeWorkshop
Apple Day Sunday 20 October 2024, 2-4pm
Sharing our love of growing fruit trees since 1998
Celebrating the hard work and joy of the apple harvest. HOCO grafted trees for sale. Fresh-press apple juice and home made cake! Read how national Apple Day began in 1990
Wassail – Saturday 18 January 2025, 2pm – 4pm
Wake up the orchard for another year of health, happiness and harvest.
Apple & Pear Grafting workshop with Tim Foster
Sunday 23 February, 10am – 12pm
This workshop has taken place!
Get in touch for news of future grafting workshops.
Free for HOCO members. Keen to learn and help HOCO fundraising? Join us as a Friend of HOCO or a Harvest-share Member.
Expert fruit grafter, Tim Foster, leads this learning and fundraising session at HOCO. Workshop participants will graft apples and pears for sale at the HOCO Apple Day. They also have the opportunity to graft trees to take away on the day.
Bee Active, Bee Fruitful!
Community Pollinator Project 2024
People-power is turning the orchard into a year-round source of food forage and shelter for the many kindly and diverse insects we rely on for fruit pollination. If they become hungry and homeless – so will we.
Bee Active, Bee Fruitful! is a Bee Bold Community Pollinator Project part-funded by the West of England Combined Authority (WECA). We are working with communities and nature to improve biodiversity and habitat for wild pollinators.
Join us as a Working or Friend Member