Bullace or Cottagers Plum.

Some years back now I visited the site of an old family leasehold. Known as Mary's garden from the original 99 year lease taken out around the early 1800s

Seeing some suckers of trees growing from my G.G.G. Grandmothers Bullace trees (Prunus domesticus)

growing I dug one of them up and planted it in my sisters garden in the  retirement bungalows in Churchill Avenue where it carried on growing.

When, later on she had to go into a nursing home I decided that as the tree, small though it was; would probaly be dug out and thrown away I would take it out and put it in my gravel boarder.

There after a couple of years it put forth blossom but has not shown signs of being fertile. 

The blossom always shows before the leaves which are healthy looking and give a good cover on the tree a few days after the blossom starts to show. It may be that it is too early for flying insects to fertilise the flowers. I don't know; however as the old saying goes "Hope springs eternal" and I would love to have a chance of trying a fruit before I "kick the bucket".

I am now quite a bit too old to venture up to the site of "Mary's garden" again in October or early November when the plums are ripe to try some from her own plot.