Blueberry's king

I've spent today in Essex, implementing a conservation scheme for a rare plant. Much of the day was spent on a fruit farm, which I've been visiting for over two years now. When I first went, there was a significant acreage of apple orchards. But English apple growers find it hard to compete with imports, or find people to pick the apples economically. Two orchards have been converted to arable production, and today I noticed that another area was in the process of removal. In the remaining orchards, much of the fruit remained unpicked or had fallen to the floor (which means we have loads of apples now!)

Like all businessmen, the owner has to provide what the consumer wants and what he can sell for a good price. At this farm that means asparagus strawberries, raspberries and blueberries (as well as a small area of Christmas trees). Until recently people in the UK didn't really eat many blueberries, but their health-giving properties have been widely advertised and they are now Britain's most fashionable fruit, with sales rocketing by 132 per cent since 2005. Most are still imported, often from Spain, Holland and Belgium, but UK blueberry production is increasingly rapidly and will stand at more than 1,500 tonnes this year.

This is a quick capture of the ripening blueberries, which also have very attractive red foliage at this time of year.