The first time I ever tasted a fresh fig was in Portugal, many years ago. From that time I wanted to have a fig tree in my garden, even though I knew that to actually harvest my own figs was quite a remote possibility.

Not so. I bought a small fig tree, Brown turkey, from a nursery in Kent. Read the instructions very carefully how and where to plant it, found the ideal spot for it and that’s where it has been living.

It took a good few years before there were ant signs of fruit. The first year we had only a few, you could count them on fingers of one hand. But we had fresh figs!

As time went by the tree grew bigger and had more fruit. The last five or so years we had so many figs that I was so extravagant that I made fig chutney! I think this will be the case this year as I have just picked our first four figs. Rather, I picked one a few days ago so I knew that the main harvest will start shortly. The tree always starts with one fig and then we have lots.

Very tasty they are and I really never thought that I’ll be able to have fresh figs on my tree in the Midlands. Perhaps there is something in the global warming idea…..