Sometimes plants surprise you. Today I looked absently up the plot, looked again, rubbed my eyes and went for a closer look - I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing. The Victoria plum tree I planted five years ago and which has so far produced 25 blossoms and 3 plums is covered in blossom, and I do mean top to bottom, side to side, hundreds of them. What a shock! But a nice one.I have been mulling over why it has suddenly decided to come out to play. This tree and the Blenheim Orange apple have never really flowered, despite the same care and attention as the other trees. Maybe it's the hard winter, maybe it's just grown enough now. Young fruit trees can be like that sometimes. Anyway, I'm crossing my fingers for the Blenheim Orange now - I think I see buds on there too!
We have had some lovely sunny weather in the last week, though still with a chill wind so my baby vegetables are remaining under cover for now. The peas and lettuce are doing well, here's a picture of the broad beans under their cloche. Very healthy plants, looks like 100% germination so the decision to change to a different variety was the right one.
The other fruit trees and bushes are also doing well. The Katy apple is due to flower in the next week or so. The gooseberries and currants are also flowering prolifically at the moment. In an earlier post I showed you what a flowering blackcurrant looks like - well here is its edible cousin, a redcurrant. There is a resemblance, but not much!
