Posts Tagged ‘plums’
Reflections on May 2010
After a hard winter there is often an abundance of fruit blossom. Hedges everywhere were thick with Blackthorn in April and my Victoria Plum tree was covered with flowers in early May. The trees in my little orchard – Bramley, Russet and James Grieve are covered in shell pink. I noticed the odd bumble bee working late into the evening gathering nectar and pollen.
There have been a number of frosty nights and before that cold winds to inhibit pollinating insects. I am becoming quite neurotic about cold dry Springs. Will we get a lovely crop of English Damson this year? They make a very special jam of unrivaled sharpness.
Now is the time to spot wild Crab-apple blossom in the hedgerows (puff balls of pink against a dark green background) and preferably before the May blossom comes into bloom. Then it is difficult to work out which is which at a glance.
I have found that Crab-apple trees fruit on a bi-annual basis producing large quantities per tree one year (my record is 400lbs!) and absolutely nothing the next. Traveling the countryside in May I make a note of trees in bloom then visit again in October to see which have set a crop. The mouth drying sharpness of Wild Crab-apples makes then especially suitable for jelly – the perfect partner to scones and cream or to eat with pork.
At dusk I notice the Wild Cherry trees (Gean) are almost luminous in the darkness and the air is heavy with the sickly sweet scent of May Blossom. Spring has arrived at last.
May 14th
I recently became a member of the Bumble Bee Conservation Trust (BBCT) and this year determined to plant more Bumble-Bee-friendly plants in my garden. They have included Vipers Bugloss, Greater Napweed, Birdsfoot Trefoil, and Wild Foxglove.