Cherries, apricots, nectarines – I love the stone fruits that are available at this time of year. One reason is that they are such a symbol of summer and not available all year round as some fruits are.
Our cherry harvest this year was disappointing. Heavy rains as the fruit was ripening caused them to split and become mouldy. The birds ate them anyway. Currently we’re enjoying cherries from the supermarket. The price is reasonable, but all the plastic packaging is a worry..

Earlier this month we drove to the Horotane Valley to buy delectable tree-ripened apricots. My childhood home in Manchester Street had an enormous apricot tree which was always laden. We used to gorge ourselves on fresh apricots, give heaps away, and my mother preserved many jars of them. I’ve planted two apricot trees in the Cottage garden. The first, planted in 1991, had some fruit the first few years, but nothing recently. The second, planted in 2001, had a label that said it required cross pollination with another apricot species, but they didn’t seem to hit it off. When this second one has produced the occasional fruit they appeared to be golden queen peaches.
I also planted a semi-dwarf nectarine in 1991. Some years it has two or three fruit, but it has failed to flourish and hardly looks any bigger than when it was first planted.
Presumably these trees lack suitable care and feeding, or maybe they don’t like our sandy soil. It’s disappointing because our old garden in Auckland had an abundant orchard, which never needed any extra care, perhaps because of the wonderful volcanic soil.
At least we have a fruitful feijoa, a cheerful cherry (weather permitting), and adolescent apple, and a wealth of walnuts.
Our apricots and nectarines
don’t dominate the garden scenes.