Strawberries and raspberries are unquestionably British summer fruit, though inferior substitutes are available from elsewhere. But blueberries? Is there anything British about them? They are generally imported from North and South America, and various European countries, and can be bought here all year round.
So I was surprised to see blueberry plants offered for sale recently in the Daily Telegraph. I was also surprised to learn that almost ten per cent of all blueberries eaten in this country are grown here, most of them on fruit farms in southern England.
Growing your own in the kitchen garden is not really recommended, unless – which is not mentioned in the Telegraph offer – you have acid soil or keep the plants in containers filled with ericaceous compost. At least ten varieties of blueberry are available.
Some years ago, I tried growing a single plant. This was a mistake as, although described as self-fertile, blueberries will do better if accompanied by one or two other plants of a different variety. After a couple of years, I had enough fruit to fill a small wineglass.
However, the flowers and foliage of the blueberry are delightful. In spring, the white flowers, which may be tinged pink, resemble lily of the valley, while in autumn the leaves of the bush turn orange and purple.
Regular – even daily – watering of the plants in hot weather is important; also feeding with a liquid fertiliser once a month between April and September. Potted plants should be moved under cover in late autumn if cold weather threatens.
The dusky blue fruit, which should appear in midsummer, are attractive, but the English blueberry is perhaps best treated as a decorative plant, while we enjoy eating the plentiful foreign produce.
Though blueberries have always been harvested from the wild, they were first cultivated in the USA, where Fats Domino sang of Blueberry Hill in the 1950s. (Amazingly, the song was once performed for charity, 15 years ago, by Vladimir Putin.)
We have our own Strawberry Hill – not a song but a famous Georgian Gothic revival house in Twickenham.
