The day of our tree walk and launch of the Tree Project dawned fair: so far the Weather Gods were on our side. I have links with St Ann’s as a patient going back many years, and although I have enjoyed and appreciated the trees on so many occasions throughout that time, I knew little about them and it took other people’s enthusiasm and knowledge to wake me up to the treasures we have there.
David Bevan turned out to be that rare combination of expert and gifted communicator, and he and Gemma worked well as a team, with her letting us know which of the fruits were tasty and safe to eat and what was not.
There was a fantastic turn-out for the walk, sixty-plus, and many people were keen to try the different fruits and take pictures. I learned what a ‘true service tree’ looks like, if not why it is called that! And that ‘sorbs’ look like little apples and little pears, but that they should be harvested and left to go brown before being eaten.
However counter-intuitive that may seem, I can vouch for the fact that brown sorbs are 100% delicious, a unique appley-date confection which I can imagine making delicious fruit-bars with or possibly a baked ‘sorb slice’...like a date slice with sorbs as the filling. You can see how my mind works!
Other notable trees on the walk were the mulberry, the Strawberry tree, and some rare hawthorns. By the time we reached the apple tree, hungry walkers were collecting windfalls and chomping into them with relish. The walk was rounded off with tea, coffee and delicious biscuits at the Water Tower, Tamara’s base for her Sculpture and Peace Garden project.
Zoe
