{"id":2677,"date":"2021-01-18T14:55:50","date_gmt":"2021-01-18T13:55:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/espalier.org\/about-us\/"},"modified":"2025-02-03T10:46:54","modified_gmt":"2025-02-03T09:46:54","slug":"about-us","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/espalier.org\/en\/about-us\/","title":{"rendered":"About Me"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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About Me<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Dear visitor,<\/em><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Espalier.org is an educational website about trained fruit trees. <\/em><\/p>

This website offers both beginners and experienced specialists a kick-start to expand their knowledge and skills. <\/em><\/p>

This website is intended to offer you \u2018all you want to know to grow your own trained fruit trees\u2019, in a clear and user friendly format. Growing your own trained fruit tree follows rules and guidelines, <\/em>and has a toolkit of techniques. As you will discover: it\u2019s a creative craft, not a straightforward recipe. <\/em><\/p>

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My Journey<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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My personal journey on this subject started with a course by fruit training guru Jan Freriks<\/strong> (The Netherlands) in 2015. Other important sources of inspiration were multiple visits to gardens with trained fruit trees in France, The Netherlands, Belgium and the UK. <\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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During my own journey:<\/em><\/p>

– I worked as a volunteer at historic sites, to take care of trained fruit trees during the seasons. <\/em><\/p>

– I started growing my own trees, studied their growth and development.<\/em><\/p>

– I visited many gardens with trained fruit trees, in The Netherlands, France, Belgium and the UK.<\/em><\/p>

– I studied a lot of literature, about the fine art of training fruit trees. <\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Along the way I encountered various struggles:<\/em><\/p>

– information is often poorly accessible, for a variety of reasons. <\/em><\/p>

First of all, the art of trained fruit trees is a highly technical subject. This makes clear writing a challenge.<\/em><\/p>

Most literature about the subject dates from the old days. Old literature is written in a time when basic plant knowledge was simply unknown. In today\u2019s world, an overload of information about plants is available, but more than the average person can handle, or needs at a specific moment. <\/em><\/p>

Literature is often written in foreign languages, which causes problems with different terminology, translations. <\/em><\/p>

– Plant behaviour and response to pruning changes in time, not only during the seasons, but also as a tree ages. Plant behaviour and response varies depending on local cultivation conditions, such as soil type, climate and micro-climate. Moreover, one should be aware that a single fruit tree actually consists of 2 or 3 different trees. In short: two trees with the same cultivar name can behave quite differently on 2 locations. <\/em><\/p>

– in today\u2019s world, like-minded people on the subject are scattered and unorganized. <\/em><\/p>

I hope Espalier.org will act as a platform for enthusiasts, both experienced veterans and new rookies.<\/em><\/p>

In time I started developing my own course materials, for personal purpose.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>

After some time I thought it would make sense to share this knowledge:<\/em><\/p>

– to help other people<\/em><\/p>

– to help maintain trained fruit trees at historic sites<\/em><\/p>

Espalier.org should become the go-to platform for people interested in trained fruit trees,<\/em><\/p>

both hobbyists and \u2018professionals\u2019. <\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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My Qualifications<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t
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You may be wondering what my background is.<\/p>

From young age I grew up at my parents\u2019 plant nursery at the heart of horticulture: the Westland<\/strong> in The Netherlands. I always had a passion for plants, their biodiversity, development, biological phenomena, genetic background, environmental interaction, cultivation methods. Therefore, it should be no surprise I studied Horticulture (research) at Agricultural College Delft, followed by\u00a0 Plant Breeding & Biodiversity at Wageningen University. Through the years, both in my horticultural career and as a hobby, I have grown numerous crops. This includes: orchids, bulbs, vegetables, fruit, perennials, annuals, shrubs, and (of course) fruit trees. This also includes various phases in the horticultural production chain: plant breeding, plant propagation (incl. plant tissue culture) and crop production. <\/em><\/p>

Besides DIY gardening I have various leisure activities related to plants, including: plant scouting, cultivar selection, plant tissue culture, cooking, photography, printing, webdesign, flower arranging, knowledge management, garden visits, health and well-being, education. <\/em><\/p>

Trained fruit trees is a niche that combines and requires ALL my experiences, skills, intuition over the last 50 years. I hope like-minded individuals and organizations will recognize this and appreciate my efforts. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>

I welcome any feedback and opportunities for cooperation. <\/em><\/p>

With this work I want to honour all pioneers on this art whose footsteps I follow.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>

Special reference goes to Jean-Baptiste de la Quintinie, the former pioneer and Head Gardener at the Castle of Versailles, during the heydays of fruit tree training. <\/em><\/p>

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On your personal journey to grow trained fruit trees I\u2019m wishing you joyful discoveries, nice people to meet, lots of fun and a tasty harvest (after some patience<\/em> \ud83d\ude09)<\/em>. <\/em><\/p>

Ed \u2018Evergreen\u2019 van Paassen,<\/p>

Espalier.org \u00a9<\/p>

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThis is an ongoing initiative. <\/em><\/br>\n
\n\nI welcome any feedback or contributions for improvement. <\/em>
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\n\n\u00a0<\/em>I hope we can make this project a collective journey!<\/em>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Special requests<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t
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Don\u2019t hesitate to reach out, for instance in case you:<\/em><\/p>

– are the host<\/strong> a relevant event (grafting day, open day, day trip). <\/em><\/p>

– are a volunteer<\/strong> and interested to get involved<\/em><\/p>

– are a writer<\/strong>, in need of high-quality photos of trained fruit trees (and historic gardens)<\/em><\/p>

– have books<\/strong> available<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Support Me!<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t
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Espalier.org is a single person\u2019s project; I do not receive any subsidy. <\/em><\/p>

If you value my efforts, please consider a subscription or making a donation. <\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Contact Me<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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