The first olive flowers bloomed a few weeks ago, just as the weather turned hotter after periods of intermittent rain. There’s a lot of them this year, which gives us high hopes for another excellent harvest season. These beautiful little white flowers eventually whither in the summer heat and shed their petals, and the buds grow into mature olives over the summer and into autumn before harvesting.

The trees are in excellent health and there’s been lots of winter rain which is good because it feels like it’s going to be a long, hot summer. We pruned extensively almost two years ago and were rewarded with a record harvest last year, and we added a rich mix of mulch and compost to the base of each tree this last winter to give them an added boost, a tasty treat, so we have quiet hopes for this year’s crop as well!