A woman was left “shaking with excitement” after discovering an avocado growing in her back garden.
Pearl Reid, 73, of Aimes Street Battersea Hill, discovered the hidden gem after returning from holiday last week.
She said: “I had been away for a few months and all the leaves were falling of my avocado tree.
“As I was sweeping them up I could see something. I couldn’t believe it so I went next door and my neighbour told me it was an avocado.
“I was shaking with excitement, it was such a surprise!
“My daughter is always telling me I’m watching the tree to find them but I hadn’t even noticed, it came out of nowhere.”
Having planted the tree several years ago Ms Reid said her son had been asking her to cut it down.
She said: “We have a small garden. I tried to cut the tree down a while ago but it sprung back up. Its amazing.
“Now I’m watching it even closer to see if any more come out. My friends are calling me to ask if they can come and have a look too.”
A self-proclaimed novice at avocado growing, Ms Reid is hopeful her new produce will be edible.
She said: “I have a relative who is coming to visit me at the end of the month to tell me what to do and when I can pick it. I’d love to try it.”
In 2022, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) predicted that wetter winters and warmer, drier summers with greater variability in rainfall would produce conditions favourable to some more exotic plants, particularly in cities where temperatures increase further due to the infrastructure.
Although still rare, Kew Gardens Botanist James Wong previously found some avocados growing in London.
Born in Jamaica, Ms Reid grew up with avocado plants in her garden before she moved to the UK in 1965, aged 14.
She said: “We called them pears. Every family had pear trees, breadfruit and banana trees.
“You would roast the breadfruit which is like a potato and eat it with the pear because that’s nourishing.”
Having grown her first avocado since moving to the UK, Ms Reid believes she has finally cracked the code.
She said: “I put all my peelings from potatoes and yams at the root of the tree.
“Rain or shine, that tree is always green and everyone is amazed by how healthy it is in winter.”
Pictured top: Pearl Reid points towards her avocado in her Battersea garden (Picture: Pearl Reid)
