50. Raspberries

Raspberries and basket swings in the Imbolc Garden

It is high summer. The grasses are seeding, the blackcurrants ripening and the raspberries are sweet and delicious. Lughnasa and harvest are coming soon.

There is a magic to walking out into the Garden, picking raspberries and eating them. I am constantly surprised that so few visitors pick the fruit, even though it is within easy reach. I trust this is due to well-mannered restraint in a public garden rather than a reluctance to eat unwashed, foraged food.

There are other tasty nibbles nearby  - wild marjoram in the meadow area, the first cherries ripening and tiny strawberries in the herb beds. And all these are native plants, the wild fruitfulness of nature.

Dessert

As a child I remember making pretend dinners out of petals and serving them carefully on large magnolia leaves. Today I made myself a little plate of dessert on a hazel leaf: this one was real, not pretend, and it tasted wonderful.

The season of true abundance is starting.