Peachy Keen

Summer is the height of decadence for gourmet gardeners, with a feast of delicious fruit to grow and harvest, and peaches are the pick of the crop.

- Melissa King

Sweet, juicy and delicious, peaches are nature’s dessert. To me, there are few pleasures greater than sitting under the shade of a tree, juice dripping down your chin as you treat yourself to a feast of garden-ripened peaches.

Peach trees are deciduous, relatively compact and display pretty blossoms as well as fruit — so they are a welcome guest in any garden, big or small. Most varieties are self-fertile, so you need only one tree to produce a good crop. They perform best in cool–temperate regions of Australia, but there are low-chill varieties that can be grown in warmer areas.

In the kitchen, their mouth-watering flavour is the perfect accompaniment to both sweet and savoury dishes. Think grilled pork tenderloins with peaches; peach and blueberry crumble; or frozen peach margaritas on a hot summer’s day.

The first question for peach lovers is whether to grow white- or yellow-fleshed varieties. I have a penchant for the white types with sweet flesh that melts in your mouth, but there are golden-fleshed types that are superb for both bottling and fresh eating.