Why the cape gooseberry and do we really have them in the garden!?
Yes! When I discovered that Julia had planted a Cape Goosebery in the garden I suffered an intense bout of nostalgia. As a child, the house we stayed in for summer holidays at the Gold Coast had a Cape Goosebery growing in the courtyard. It was incredibly mysterious. Why were these delicious yellow berries hiding inside delicate paper capsules? That feeling floods back every time I peel back the calyx to reveal the fruit.
I’ve just discovered that the French call it amour en cage, “love in a cage”!
(For the botanically-minded the Cape Gooseberry, Physalis Peruviana, comes from the present-day region of Peru and Chile and we are planning to grow one of its close relatives, the Tomatillo.)
When did you join MBCG?
I joined about a year after the garden was initially established, 2013. It’s been great to be part of its growth: both the garden and the community.