The extract under consideration is a piece of a third person narration. However, it is not just a matter-of-fact account of events. You can find not a few pieces of description throughout the story. Thereby the finely wrought delineation of the characters and scenery is gained. Also there are quite a lot of dialogues in the story which are important in revealing a person’s inner state and overall atmosphere.
On the whole, the prevailing tone of the extract appears to be rather romantic and elevated. This effect is caused by the description of the two friends Frank Ashurst and Robert Garton. The former is an idealistic and romantic young man full of absence. And the latter stands in contrast to his friend, being too practical. The author
And this is another symbol used by the author – the apple-tree – so expressive and meaningful that it becomes the title of the story. Now it is in leaf, and all but in flower – its crimson buds just bursting. It stands for the feeling which is about to burst between Ashurst and Megan in a little while. What is in store for them? Frank doesn’t think about it, his feelings and meditations are ambiguous and idle and he feels absurdly happy. We can only guess what is to happen with them but for the time being “every bough is swinging in the wind, every spring bird calling, and a slanting sunlight dapples the grass”.

The story afforded great pleasure to me, I enjoyed every minute of it. I give the author his due for brilliance of style. The foundation of Galsworthy's talent lies in a remarkable power of ironic insight combined with an extremely keen and faithful eye for all the phenomena on the surface of the life he observes. Galsworthy's realism lies in his capacity for making his hero part and parcel of his surroundings and convincing the reader of his typicality: he is a fine artist in reproducing the individual workings of his characters'