Each peach, pear, plum

Summer arrived at Penrose in late December and brought with it an air of incredible fecundity. On the trees peaches poached gently in the hot summer sun. Berries, plums, apricots, lemons and calamondins were ripe for the plucking. Figs, hazelnuts, medlars, kiwifruit and blueberries were swelling on branches, pregnant with fertility. We devoured red currants, gooseberries and raspberries. We picked Quillans Early Apricots, Redhaven peaches, Early Macintosh apples and Tasmanian crown Rhubarb for bottling and preserves.

Knowing the name of each peach, pear and plum gives you an almost genealogical link with its heritage. A Brown Turkey fig tree from the Grays, a Barcelona hazelnut from the Jackson/Ackroyds, blueberries ordered via a friend from school, a calamondin planted over a poor possum that met with misadventure. The provenance of plants in a garden creates a special link between the gardener and his/her garden. Everything has a history and everything has a reason for being that gives it a connection in time and place. A garden is a living diary, a book of days, an almanac of seasons and sustainability. And everything within a garden is a precious reminder of how much we should value the plants that gives us fruit, food and friendship.