I love this time of year because I am reminded just how magical the food growing process really is. Anyone who has seen apple blossom in its full glory will know what I’m talking about: a breath-taking display of beauty designed to lure in pollinators, and will soon become a wonderful source of food for a variety of species, myself included.
While the plants in my garden remain in bud or flower, this is the time to appreciate them. It’s absolutely amazing to me that a strawberry flower (pictured, above) will one day soon produce a sweet red fruit. But look closely enough and you begin to recognise it.
These are wild strawberries and produce tiny fruit the size of an olive stone – or maybe the whole olive if I’m really lucky. Perfect for garnishing desserts or drinks.
Currently covered in cascading bunches of tiny flowers, my redcurrant should produce some decent fruit this year. (Helps that I eventually learned it fruits from old wood, not the new stuff.)
The little bunches of flowers are so delicate it’s hard to imagine they will soon support bunches of fruit. If I get a big yield I’ll consider a redcurrant jelly. Otherwise, perhaps draped over tiny fruit tarts or pavlovas.
This is a plum tree, a pleasant surprise discovered last year when it produced a single plum. I’m pretty sure the tree itself grew from a single rogue plum fallen from our next door neighbour’s highly established plum tree. Goodness knows how long this little sapling has been growing there, unnoticed, slowly biding its time until it could bear fruit. Luckily I count far more than just the one plum this year.
Looks like it’s going to be a fruitful summer.
Caroline Feeds 