Casseilles

Today's the day ...................... to think of friends

These exotic looking flowers are now appearing on two fruit bushes in our garden. You might not have seen them before because they are quite unusual - at least in the UK. They are called casseilles and they are a cross between a gooseberry and a blackcurrant. The name comes from the french word for blackcurrant (cassis) and gooseberry (groseille).

They were sent to us as cuttings by our very good friends, Marc and Marie-Claire, who live near Grenoble in France. They came in a parcel full of homemade jams, pickles and other wonderful things. They just looked like two sticks with a bit of root and it was quite hard to imagine that they would one day grow into quite big bushes and produce lots of delicious fruits.

It's nice to think that the parent bush in Marc and Marie-Claire's garden will also be in flower now. It makes them seem a little bit closer too .................