We're now in the midst of the Scottish summer, where in the 2nd week of July the sun disappears and it chucks it down relentlessly until 1st September. Only difference this year is that it's cold as well. Fortunately the foraging season is in full swing to keep the spirits up. There is something special about going out and getting food for free - I guess it's a similar feeling to the one you got when filling in your expense claims in the 1990s. It starts here with elderflowers in June and goes through to October taking in blaeberries, brambles, chanterelles and hazels. July though is the month for plucking the ample fruit of the local native tree, the gean (
Prunus avium).
They taste and look very much like sweet cherries, which isn't really a surprise because that's what they are. The biggest surprise is that no-one else seems to pick them or even know they are there. They rival the Kentish cherry for taste, just lack the same fleshiness. Biggest problem is getting there before the birds take all the low-hanging fruit - and these are huge trees. In future though, I hope to forgo this bit of the foraging season. I have planted a sweet cherry in my orchard, a compact tree that I can throw a fishnet over, together with a sour morello type, which I'm sure you are all aware is a different species,
Prunus cerasus. These cherries are bound for a clafoutis, a rather fine stodgy batter pudding. The rest will go to make a French style jam with a few wild redcurrants to provide the pectin - perfect for the those late summer breakfasts in the September sunshine.
It's a truth universally acknowledged that you need to be hard to survive up north. If you're soft, stick to the south. Well, this is the conventional wisdom with garlic. There are two types differentiated by their necks. Conventionally sold to gardeners is softneck, a dowdy run of the mill short stem which you pull when it goes yellow. The hardneck is an elegant plant with a proud stem that twists like a swan's neck eventually opening into flower. This bit is called a scrape which is sold in its own right as a delicacy in high-class establishments for a modest fortune. I'm not sure "scrape" does it justice, and perhaps a rebranding is require before further market penetration is achieved. I'm of course not one to choose what I grow based on aesthetics but I can imagine that some
of you might consider using it as a decorative addition to the garden. Although it looks good alongside our designer shed, I am only attracted to its northern latitude pedigree, having bought mine from the Really Garlicky farm which is just down the road. Drawbacks? Despite a decent size bulb, you get only about six cloves to the bulb and it does not match the keeping qualities of the southern softie. I guess you can't have it all, but we're getting there.
