by Katie Lamborn

Kent has confirmed its title as the 'Garden of England', despite orchards disappearing at an alarming rate.

According to a national newspaper, more apples and pears are grown here than anywhere else in the UK. And Brogdale Farm in Faversham is home to the largest collection of fruit tree and plants in the world.

Though Kent has lost more than 85 per cent of its orchards over the past 50 years, the National Fruit Collection includes over 3,500 named apple, pear, plum, cherry, bush fruit, vine and cob nut cultivars.

Addressing the issue of orchard decline, Mike Austin, an official guide at Brogdale Farm, said: "It's all down to this commercial climate we are in. There's a lot of cheap imports coming in that undercut the English fruit.

"Supermarkets [are] sourcing their fruit from abroad. It's really down to cost of production and the yields that you can get in warmer countries, so they can produce at a cheaper rate."

However, Brogdale Farm is flourishing. Its location is perfect being in the middle of the north Kent fruit belt, which ranges from Canterbury around to the Medway towns.

Audio: Mike Austin tells us all about Kent as a fruit growing area.

Mr Austin added: "It's an ideal fruit growing area because Kent is surrounded on three sides by the sea so you’ve got a maritime climate."

Due to a "cruder climate", English fruit has a different taste to continental European fruit. "If you are talking about France and Spain where it’s a lot warmer, the fruit ripens at a much quicker rate. You never get as much flavour as the English fruit," said Mr Austin.

Brogdale Farm has recently been awarded a Gold Award in the category 'Flavour of the South East' in the Tourism ExSEllence Awards 2009.