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The damson is a small, hardy member of the plum family, producing clouds of white blossom in spring followed by dark blue-purple fruit in late summer and early autumn. The fruit is rather sharp eaten straight from the tree but comes into its own when cooked, making excellent jams, jellies, crumbles and—perhaps most importantly—damson gin.
Baz is particularly fond of making damson jam. I have made it too, although, as somebody who never actually eats jam, the exercise seems increasingly difficult to justify. Several jars of hedgerow jam or jelly have now been sitting in our kitchen for two or three years, quietly maturing into family heirlooms.