but today they feel like it
one of the last emperors of constantinople named the south of greece ‘the morea’, as it looked like a mulberry leaf…fair play to him, and if i had my way we’d plant one in every square, one in every bit of public space…theres nothing like them
dippy old james I tried to kick off a boom in the silk industry in britain by planting huge numbers, but legend has it that he went for black mulberry and silk production relies on the white…still, the black tastes a whole lot better, so hats off to him too
theyre a beautiful, slightly weeping, spreading tree, somehow slightly magical – weve all sung ‘mulberry’ but how many of us have eaten one? they probably declined in number due to the staining fruit and the long time it takes some varieties to bear fruit…seven to eight years they say…we planted two year old trees three months ago and here they come already
traditionally the last tree in the orchard to bloom, mulberries entered our year-clock – our way off reading nature and the seasons – the elizabethan poet barnably googe wrote “when soever you see the mulberie begin to spring, you may be sure that winter is at an end”
run to historic houses and pinch them off the trees there, ask at nurseries, even your grocer, but do find them somehow…elizabeth david recommends them in summer pudding, and if theyre recommended by her then thats all fine with me