Ripe Fruits of the Retail Park

Thursday, 29th August 2002, West Yorkshire

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As I walk past the slightly overgrown shrub bed by the B&Q retail store in town I notice arching shoots of bramble dotted with ripe black fruits. They're so ripe you could easily squash them as you pick them, but they've developed their full flavour and they're beautifully sweet.

The Chutney Season

There has been an especially good crop of Bramleys, which are cooking apples, on my mum's tree this year and her Victoria plums, including a tree that must almost date back to Victorian times, are heavy with ripe fruit.

plum

The plums won't be at their best for long so Barbara and her mum have decided to have a chutney session today. This also gives us a chance to use one or two of our onions which have also done well this year; it's one of the best crops we've ever had.

We never seem to get to the end of all the improvements we want to make to the garden but the raised veg beds I constructed this year have been a success and they should make things so much easier next year. That's if I get the paths between them sorted out . . .

Richard Bell,
wildlife illustrator
E-mail; 'richard@willowisland.co.uk'