I put three apple trees in my back garden last summer. Two of the trees are of the type “Beauty of Bath”, which require a tree of a different type to pollinate (and therefore produce apples). So I planted a dwarf apple tree (over a different type) near them . However, I might have a problem, since the dwarf has begun to blossom already whereas the flowers and leaves on two other trees have just begun to form – there is a chance that the dwarf’s blossoms (and precious pollen) will be gone, before the other two trees have fully bloomed. However, I do have a back-up plan. This year, I plan to plant most of the garden with pollen-laden bedding flowers (lots of alyssum, petunias and nasturtiums) and I have a plot of lavender beside the trees since last year. That should attract plenty of bees and other insects, like the hoverfly that I photographed on Sunday, resting beside an emerging blossom on the dwarf apple tree.