Black Mulberries (latin name Morus nigra) are so ripe and juicy that they just melt in your mouth.
juicy mulberry
This is a bumper year for mulberries.
mulberries on tree
The trees are laden and the fruit is of excellent quality.
mulberry tree harvest
The tree in this picture was grown from a cutting – the mother tree was in Patrington Rectory.
mulberries
So many mulberries are found in Rectories. The story is that Queen Anne decreed that all rectories should have a mulberry tree – to support the silk trade!
mulberry & 5p piece
Silk worms feed on the mulberry leaves.
There is a mulberry tree in the grounds of Wilberforce House, close to the River Hull, in Yorkshire. Perfectly shaped, knarled and old, it crops well.
Wilberforce House in Hull is the birthplace of William Wilberforce. William Wilberforce led the long and arduous campaign against the slave trade, which resulted in the abolition bill in 1807. To mark this important anniversary a mulberry tree was planted on the edge of our veg patch in 2007.
The mulberry tree evokes childhood memories of:
- mulberry jam
- carpets of fallen, juicy, red mulberries under the tree
- picking mulberry leaves to feed pet silk worms
- the sound of silkworms munching on the leaves, in the quiet of the night
The mulberry tree in the garden will attract birds which will help keep down the insect pests. Mulberries are adaptable and do well in more marginal soils and climates.
We will certainly be able to feed on the juicy mulberries picked from our tree, that we have put in the freezer over the winter!