Life would be so very miserable without fruit. But if you stick to the well-known fruits like apples and blackberries then you’re living a life that is missing out on the wonderful flavoursome fun of unusual fruits. Here’s a challenge: pick just one new fruit from the list below and decide to grow it next year in your garden. Or maybe two, or three.
Japanese wineberries: Sweeter than blackberries, less rampant than blackberries, prettier than blackberries….what more do you need to know? Grow in rich, moist soil at least 3-4m apart.
Salmonberry: Maroon flowers and very tangy orange fruits.
Blackcap: Bramble-like with sweeter purple fruits than a blackberry.
Mulberries: Fabulously tangy and juicy berries borne not on canes but on gorgeous rangy trees. Read more about mulberries here.
Quinces: Lovely fragrant pear-shaped fruits from times gone by. Read more here.
American Persimmon: You can get away with growing the juicy fruits of Diospyros virginiana outside in a warm sheltered spot.
Medlar: Known as ‘dog’s arse’ colloquially, these fruits taste far better than their name: like caramel and honey mixed together. Find out more about them here.
Juneberry: This shrub is gorgeous, and worth planting even if you have no intention of harvesting its tart red berries.
Sea buckthorn: Bright orange berries encrusting trailing branches with thin silvery leaves. Almost too good to be true. Here’s more about it.
Fuchsia: If you like the flowers (and not everyone does), then the purple oblong fruits are marvellous for jelly.
Blue honeysuckle: The environmentally friendly alternative to blueberries, as these plants do not need to be planted in ericaceous soil and therefore you don’t have to use peat. Lovely oblongish blue fruit which tastes honeyish and more like a blackcurrant than a blueberry.
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linda penney
I most certainly will try some of those even if i use the fruit to help feed the wildlife as well as ourselfs with jams and chutneys happy gardening from LINDA