My blackcurrant bush has been flowering!

I’ve had it for around 5 years, but sadly neglected to note the cultivar when I bought it. It produces a lot of fruit every year, and is generally a happy fellow, only occasionally troubled by some aphids on the tips.

Keeping him company in the “fruit area”, are some strawberry plants (mostly ‘Malwina’ – a deep red sweet fruit), an assortment of raspberry canes (including ‘Sugana Yellow’), as well as some rhubarb which I divided last year and is still feeling sorry for itself.

There is also my very prickly ‘Hinnomaki Red’ gooseberry bush. You have to wait for them to turn as red as possible before eating, otherwise they are sour little green bullets.

The newest addition to the area is a tayberry.

I’m always drawn to tayberries, loganberries, boysenberries and other hybrids at the pick-your-own, as it is usually the only place you ever see them.

I picked this plant up at Morrisons supermarket last year, and I’m hoping he’ll yield a little fruit. As you can see, there is at least one flower!

One of the greatest things about growing your own is the sheer variety available, particularly in the cultivars. It is quite intoxicating, and when I have a lot more grow space, I look forward to my own mini-trials.

To end on a savoury note though, wild garlic is now in season.

I have foraged for it in the past, but decided it would be much easier to cultivate my own patch. This is slowly taking off after a few years, and we had some great wild garlic pesto the other night. Aware that it can be invasive, I put it right down the far end of the garden, and thus far it hasn’t raced away.