Nursery World - Grow Your Own

The weather may be getting colder and wetter, but the December garden has some surprises

Winter is well under way now, and here in the West Country we have suffered torrential rain with flooding, and frosts of nearly minus ten degrees, both of which make any serious planting or digging off-limits.

We have an ancient medlar tree in the grounds of our nursery in Keynsham, fallen long ago, but still clinging onto life, and this year it produced enough fruit for us to try to make a jar of medlar jelly.

The fruits look a little like a rather small, hard russet apple crossed with a rosehip, and are too sour to eat raw. Picked while they are green, they are inedible until they have been ‘bletted’, which means they have been stored until they become soft and brown. That’s the stage we’re at, so the jelly should be coming soon and we can’t wait to try this rare aromatic treat.

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