IF you read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as a child and dreamed of Willy Wonka’s delicious fruity wallpaper covered in snozzberries, you’ll be close to the sense of luxury and pleasure that comes with eating homegrown fruit. I feel this especially with berries: to be able to pick handfuls to enjoy straight from the plant without cooking or even washing makes me unnaturally happy. As much as I love blackberries, raspberries and strawberries, there is a special magic about those flavours beyond the supermarket shelves. Wineberries, blue honeysuckle, Chilean guava, jostaberries, and more—all delicious—are among the many you can only enjoy if you grow them yourself.
Japanese wineberries were my first taste of unusual berries and, of those that resemble blackberries in growing habit, I think they are the most beautiful. Small, pale-pink flowers cover the plant in early summer, after which the calyxes open to reveal berries that ripen quickly from bright green to vivid orange to deep crimson. The fruit is sweet and delicious: imagine a crossover of blackberries, raspberries, mulberries, and with a distinctive winey, grapevines. Native to northern China, Korea, and Japan, wineberries were introduced to Europe and North America primarily to cross with raspberries, but they are so well uncompromised by hybridization. At the end of the season, the arching canes’ soft, rust-red bristles catch the winter sun, bringing a dash of colour to the garden throughout the cold months.
Denne historien er fra August 25, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra August 25, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
