There is a large nectarine tree in the back corner of my garden. It’s visible from my kitchen window, so I get to watch it transform throughout the year from winter stick, to leafy spring blossom, through to fruit set and ripening. The tree is loaded this year with fragrant, fat nectarines. I toddle out in my thongs each morning to pick a big bowl full. The aroma is intoxicating and the flavour is incredibly intense, thanks to ripening on the tree.

a bowl full of nectarines