The sloe is steeped in history. The enclosure of Britain’s commons many moons ago took land from the country folk. Hawthorn and blackthorn hedges carved up the countryside. But blackthorn brought with it a dark blue bitter fruit, delicious when soaked in gin and sugar. The simple sloe brought at least some harmony among the hedgerows and soothed the spirits of the landless.
Bearer of the sloe, blackthorn is a signature of the British countryside, its’ blossom heralds the spring. The capricious sloe fruit then appears on its’ bows and branches in September, ushering autumn across the land. Britain wouldn’t be nearly the same without its gnarly hedgerows, a haven for wildlife and foraged by generations of country people. Sloemotion is big on foraged fruit with all of sloes and other fruits handpicked from hedgerows, woodland edges and orchards.