TIME was, just a few years ago, when peaches were not on the horizon of most gardeners.

But it just shows how much the climate is a-changing that peaches, apricots and all manner of plants, formerly thought of as not hardy enough for the UK, now flourish.

In Paul Bailey’s compact garden, his peach tree has prospered to such a degree that, early in the year, he was forced to break out his loppers to create a bit of much-needed space for his other plants — including a 40-year-old wisteria.

Paul was unexpectedly rewarded for his surgery by his formerly giant peach producing a burgeoning harvest of juicy fruit.

He was forced to take drastic action as his garden is only 20ft by 11ft, but is testament to what can be achieved in a small space.

He rescued his peach from B&Q as a 6ft, single-stem tree, that looked like it was dying and was labelled as a nectarine.

He knocked down the price to just a fiver and it has rewarded him for his rescue by fruiting for four of the five years he has had it.

Paul makes up his own mixture, which he applies early in the year to reduce leaf curl which is a common peach pest.

At the same time I was tucking in to some of Paul’s peaches and enjoying smoothies, a press release arrived from the fruit tree company Lubera telling me it has launched two new varieties, Veroma ‘Bello’ and Veroma ‘Pico,’ created from a cross between the original Tibetan peach Prunus mira and peaches that are resistant to leaf curl.

They, like Paul’s peach, are also said to be tasty, juicy, self-fertile — and tolerant to thinning.