My favorite peach tree (so far)

All that impromptu talk about drupes just got me thinking about a peach tree I came across randomly during one of my stints in Boston.

Summer 2009: I had moved back to the city in order to start working for the Greenway, and found a summer sublet living with some Tufts University students in Somerville, MA. The apartment was in the Teele Square area quite close to the university, and I had been taking the Red Line from Davis Sq. to South Station as a daily commute. By the time August rolled around, I was talking to one of my roommates about routes to work (which I think is the generic icebreaker conversation after you've covered the current temperature and level of precipitation), upon which she noted I was going a longer way than I needed to.

City peaches: I think this was by the intersection of Packard and Broadway.

Either needing a change of pace or looking to save five minutes on my commute, I took her advice a few days later and walked to Davis Station via. Packard Avenue, where I'd take a shortcut across a Tufts parking lot before crossing onto Holland St.

Now I tend to check out street trees and gardens as I walk, if only because I feel proud of myself when I recognize plants. So there I was checking out the profusion of urban staples such as London Planetrees (Platanus x acerfolia) and Norway Maples (Acer platanoides). So you can imagine my surprise when all of a sudden I first look down to try to avoid the overripe fruit littering the sidewalk, and then find myself ducking to get past one of the low hanging branches of a Peach tree.

Drupes in July, probably a few weeks until ripening

I actually took the above images in July 2011 (nearly two years after the above anecdote), as part of my whirlwind tour of the city before moving to Delaware, so the fruits (excuse me, drupes) are not ripe. Still, I was more than a little surprised to see this tree. I've always thought of peaches as a southern crop, and assumed that growing them in New England would require quite a bit of care, so I was bit taken aback to come across one at an intersection in Somerville, which seemed to be in at least good health and fruiting prolifically with little to no signs of care. I suppose it goes to show how hardy some of these trees can be, and how strong their will to live is once they have become established. Also goes to show what one can do as an urban gardener. If you're willing to think even a little bit outside the box, you can cause a even plant nerd like me to stop dead in their tracks. Come to think of it, I suppose that does mean you do risk them coming back camera in hand year after year trying to catch the plant in peak... maybe it's better to stick to the staples after all.