Spring Blows Hot and Cold

February was playing games. It was frosty, it was foggy and it has also been unseasonably sunny and warm.

We have been out in hats coats and gloves and we have been out in shorts and t-shirts.

Plum Blossom is filling the hedgerows with a white bloom, Blackthorn and Hawthorn will soon follow. 

Meanwhile Daffodils and Crocus are painting the road sides and gardens. Flashes of colour to fill in between the new growth of trees and bushes.

We have been on some lovely walks, including down Hurst Spit and around the Keyhaven nature reserve. 

When the sun has been hot and the tide good, we have been messing about on the river with boats from St. Deny's Boat Club.

 

March looks set to start with a good old fashioned storm. How it will turn out after that, only time will tell, but I hope the prevailing wind stays Southwesterly.

Up the Apple & Pears

A Lovely Big hedgerow Apple Tree

Now is the easiest time to spot fruit trees in the hedgerows and parks and common land, even if you do not have much knowledge of tree types. This weekend we stopped under a small but florid crab apple tree to shelter from the April rain (this is certainly the wettest drought I’ve ever seen). The prolific buzzing of bees in the canopy made a welcome change from the constant background drone of traffic.

A Great Spot For A Picnic; by a Canal, with Free Fruit and Walnuts

Apple and pear trees are coming into bloom and the blossom will be abundant, which is why, like, Cherries, they are sometimes planted as ornamental trees.

Apple

Many countries celebrate the flowering of fruit trees in Spring. It is a time of rejuvenation and transformation.

Pear

So, when you next spot a tree covered in flowers, take time to look a little closer and see if you can identify what fruit it will bear.

Apple

Structurally, apple and pear trees can look similar although pears tend to be taller and more upright in their growth. Apple trees often show signs of previous pruning but if they have been neglected they can get very gnarled and busy.

Apple

The flowers of pear trees do look similar and both trees begin to grow leaves before flowers but the buds of apple blossom are often tinged with pink; whereas pears are likely to be pure white

The easiest way to determine apple from pear, before the fruit is visible, is by examining the leaves. Pear leaves are more pointed in shape and have a more sharply serrated edge. Apple leaves have more gentle serrations around the edges and a more rounded appearance.

Pear

Of course there are many diverse varieties within any type of fruit tree, so differences will always need to be accounted for. The Urbane Forager’s free Seasonal id Sheets are still available for download to your computer and printing off for convenience…

Spring is Sprung



Crocus



Spring is sprung

The grass is riz

I wonder where the birdies is

The bird is on the wing they say

But that’s absurd!

I always thought the wing was on the bird.

More Crocuses!

That old rhyme was told to me by my Father and for some reason it resonated and stuck in my head. It is traditionally sung with a thick New York accent. I have not attempted to capture this in writing, but imagine boid instead of bird etc. and you will soon get the picture.

Darling Daffs of March

The birds are in fact all of a twitter. It’s nesting/mating time and the sap is rising!

Buds Fizzing On a Plum Tree

It’s a well-known and easily remembered fact that St. Valentine’s/Pancake Day tends to coincide with the appearance of frog and toad spawn it the ponds and lakes.

More Plum Blossom Bursting to Open

Daffodils will soon fill the verges with swathes of yellow and we can once again romantically wander, lonely as a cloud.

Beautiful Springtime

The various types of plum trees and blackthorn bushes are already bursting with buds.

Plum Blossom Heralds the Onset Of Spring

After this last warm weekend (I was in my tshirt), those of us who look, will notice more flowers in the trees - the hedgerows will soon be festooned in blossom. That’s right, the white blossom you spot in the hedgerows now will soon develop into young plums or sloes, so remember where you see it- there’s no fruit without flowers…

Catkin Collections

A Catkin Shower Catching the Winter Sun

One tree that is easy to spot, even in the depths of winter, is the Hazel; this is because the flowers of this tree are catkins and these tiny treasures are currently dangling from a hazel hedge, tree or coppice near you, right now.



Catkins Blowing in the Breeze

Children love picking and collecting catkins; possibly because they look like caterpillars, but they disintegrate fairly quickly, either that or they end up in their trouser pockets clogging the washing machine, along with other curious miscellaneous items.

Another One For The Collection

I always think that they look like little localised, frozen showers hanging by the roadsides, but for me they are very helpful to identify where there might be a nice crop of Hazelnuts later in the year. In the summer you can revisit the places and see if any hazelnuts have developed. It can be harder to recognise individual trees when everything has turned verdant green - you can't see the trees for the woods, as it were.

Good Things Come To Those Who Know Where To Find Them
Can You Spot The Hazelnuts?

Sloe Business



Sloes on a Blackthorn Bush



Sloes are currently everywhere in the hedgerows. I picked enough to make wine and gin in just half an hour. I wore my cycling gloves to allow faster picking with less pain.

Sloe Wine

It's Difficult to Photograph Wine Making and Make it Look Appealing

The sloes are immersed in boiling water with some raisins and then stirred each day for up to a week. After a couple of days the mixture turns a lovely thick deep red, this reminded me of making elderberry port but it did not require the lengthy boiling.

Especially When It Begins To Ferment

After a suitable period the previously activated yeast is added to the mix. It is then left in a warm place to get on with the process.

Time to Strain into a Demijon

Sloe Gin



There are lots of different recipes for Sloe Gin but the simplicity and cheek of this one (from Sloe.biz) appealed to me.

1.      Pick your sloes from blackthorn hedges in October or November when they are most ripe - probably after the first frosts.

Blue Black Beauties

2.      Take a litre bottle of gin, and drink half a litre.

Remove the Leaves Before Freezing

3.      Cut or prick the sloes and drop them into the half-empty bottle so that they displace the remaining gin to near the top.

4.      Add one wine goblet of sugar (approx 150g).

More Gin Required

5.       All you have to do now is turn or agitate the bottle daily for a week, then weekly for a month or two ... by which time it will be ready to drink (but it is really best kept until the next winter.

That Looks More Like It





Sloe, Sloe, Quince, Quince, Sloe

After the very successful Picknik #3, in the lovely churchyard of St Mary’s in Swaythling, Gary (the vicar) asked if we would like to come and pick Quinces from the Vicarage garden. My only previous experience of these very traditional fruits was a jar of ancient quince jelly I found in the kitchen cupboard. It was made by my mum about ten years ago but my daughter would eat it with a spoon given half a chance.



A Ripe Quince On The Vicarage Tree

I wondered if there was any connection between the name of this fruit and the word quintessential but my learned friend Roy informs me that this word is derived from the fifth element – Earth, Water, Fire and Air being the first four. Of course, we know a little bit more about science these days but it is always good to bone up on your alchemical knowledge. 

A Quintet of Quintessential Quinces

I tried typing “turning quinces into gold” into a search engine and this turned up that the fragrant fruit was highly regarded by the Greeks. It was probably the golden apple that Paris gave to Aphrodite as a symbol of love. However, it goes on to describe their taste as astringent and gritty; I’m not quite sure what the romantic implications of that might be and I have no idea what Aphrodite did with her quince.

Cook Before Eating

Another traditional hedgerow berry that is currently available is the Sloe. Sloes are the blue, black fruit of the Blackthorn bush/tree, very common in hedges and very plentiful this year. Many people like to pick these bloomy boys to make Sloe Gin, in preparation for the Christmas and long winter nights. I have decided to attempt making Sloe wine this year, although if we have enough left over, I can think of no better excuse for buying a bottle of gin.

Sloes in September

Sloes are too dry and sour to eat off the bush (good for a dare though as my daughter will testify), but they taste lovely and plumy when preserved.  You can add flavour with orange zest, cloves, cinnamon or almond essence. Normally you pick them after the first frost as this helps the process. Alternatively, you can sling them in the freezer to cheat the seasons – especially as the winter seems a bit late this year.

Ripe Sloes in October