Blenheim Apricot Harvest June 2020 Van Dyke Ranch, Gilroy, CA

This is the June 2020 Blenheim apricot harvest at the Van Dyke Ranch, a certified organic farm located in Gilroy, California. It was filmed from 18 June to 25 June.

The Blenheim apricot has a tangled genealogy that even dedicated fruit historians have difficulty straightening out. One theory traces it back to a seedling planted in the Luxembourg Gardens of Paris, and introduced to the public around 1815 under the name Royal. Then about 20 years after the introduction of the Royal, a seed, supposedly from the Royal tree, was planted in the garden of the Blenheim Palace. The tree thrived and its fruit was called Shipley’s Blenheim, named after the head gardener of the palace. Blenheims were found planted in the Spanish missions of California by the 1880s and reached their height of cultivation during World War I. During the war shipments of dried fruit from Europe came to a halt and demand for apricot trees in California spiked to supply dried apricots for the market. In the 1920s Blenheim orchards covered Santa Clara and Alameda counties and the Sacramento Valley. Blenheims are best grown in the Northern and central valley of California in the foothills to help avoid late spring frosts that can damage early blossoms.

Music and video by Shand Walton

Made with Final Cut Pro X, Logic Pro X, and iPhone XR