I had pretty much given up on my peach trees. After all, they were impulse buys at the garden center, little “Patio Peaches” which are only about 4 feet tall at maturity.

Year after year, they lived up to their promise in terms of ornamental value only, loaded with dark pink, crepe-y blooms each spring, but the numerous fruits never ripened, or shriveled and fell early.

For some reason this year is another story. Every day I gather about a dozen of the little peaches off the ground. They aren’t the most flavorful peaches I have ever tasted, but they have a good texture and they are “free”!

So far I have had enough for a large peach cobbler and a batch of Blueberry-Peach Conserve, the recipe for which I share with you now. I use it mainly on top of plain yogurt. It is ten times better than pre-flavored yogurt. It would also be good on ice cream:

Blueberry Peach Conserve
from Summer in a Jar: Making Pickles, Jams and More
by Andrea Chesman

4 peaches
4 cups blueberries
1 orange (juice and rind)
1/2 cup honey or sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts

Peel the peaches by first immersing in boiling water for 1 minute. This should loosen the skins. Cool the peaches and slip off the skins. Pit and chip finely. You can use the food processor fitted with a steel blade to chop the peaches. Use the pulsing action and do not over-process.

Puree half the blueberries in the food processor. Or, place half the blueberries in a large kettle and mash the berries with a potato masher. This will take some effort if the berries are firm, cultivated berries.

Very thinly peel the orange to remove the rind only. Avoid the white membrane. Finely chop the rind. Again, this is easy to do in a food processor. Squeeze the juice from the orange.

In a large kettle, combine the blueberries, peaches, orange juice and rind, honey, and walnuts. Bring to a boil and boil for 20-35 minutes until the mixture is thick and the fruits are tender.

Remove from the heat. Ladle the hot conserve into clean, hot half-pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Seal. Process in a boiling water bath or steam canner for 10 minutes. Adjust seals if necessary. Cool undisturbed for 12 hours. Store in a cool, dry place. Store opened jars in the refrigerator.

Yield: 7 half-pints