The edges of this little French garden seem very close together now, compared with the new one in Brighton. A small cour with a beaten earth floor leads to the little raised terrace, no bigger than a boxroom. Even the mulberry - le murier platane - has expanded to fill the space. Pruning it over the last two years – partly to clear the shady areas of the patio – has given it vigour, and new smaller branches are bearing fruit. With big leaves on them – heart shaped and shiny. The puzzle is to work out what the seedlings are in the mint pot under the tree. They could be mulberries, sown by dropping off the tree or even bird-sown. But the leaves look different, more cut-in and pointy, less shiny. Did I plant other seeds there, from another fruit tree, thinking it would be good to start a little fruitier? What other trees are around– not beech, maybe a cerisier from last year’s crop in Ceret ?
This year we are here early, so I’m collecting the black mulberries from the branches I can now reach, and adding them to a sugary pot. Maybe to turn them into liqueur by the end of the week?
