Last night I was walking from Highbury Corner to the Alwyne along the south side of St Pauls Road (not Hackney I know but bear with me…) when I passed what I thought were some very large cherries lying on the ground.
I looked up and saw that they were on a tree with very dark copper leaves. Jumping up to grab one and have a taste, I discovered they were plums – they were a little tart but very very close to being ready!
Having a browse round the internet, it looks like it was a cherry plum (prunus cerasifera). Right next door was a greengage. Both are public trees and both were laden with fruit.
Keep an eye out for those plum trees over the next couple of weeks. We’re hoping to organise a plum harvesting and processing day – more details coming soon.
We’ll also dig out some plum-based recipes so you can make use of them before they turn. If you have any favourite recipes, plesae post them in the comments below.
Also don’t forget the second fruit tree mapping day this Saturday. More info here.
