Unlike most of the authors we have read, Sarah Conrad Gothie doesn’t have a big web presence and isn’t a gardener or even cook or writer on those topics outside of this book
She is adjunct at the Moore college of art and design: https://moore.edu/about/directory/sarah-gothie/
Dr. Gothie’s usual research is about literary tourism and the impacts that travel to an author’s home can have on the visitor. Her dissertation focused on the work of L.M. Montgomery’s Green Gables Heritage Place, the site of L.M. Montgomery’s Cavendish Home and the location of the Anne of Green Gables stories. Although it has nothing to do with plums or this book, her work sounds quite interesting. She commented in the article (https://lmmontgomery.ca/meet-lmmi%E2%80%99s-research-associate-sarah-gothie) that what people write on comment cards doesn’t come close to describing the impact a visit might have. She is now working on a project, Pages to Pilgrimages. You, too, can share your story at: www.pages2pilgrimages.org.
Back to damson plums… A general purpose (free) resource on damson plums with lots of good links. It is true that some links are broken but there are plenty that work just fine. And, is frequently the case with the internet, if you really want to find the material described as being at the broken link, you can use your favorite search engine to track it down using similar or the same words and phrases. The author Daiv Sizer (see gin video below) updates this document pretty regularly. I’m including the link to the March 2023 version: https://damsonplums.files.wordpress.com/2023/02/a-guide-to-damsons-2023.pdf
A sort of this and that website called Orchard Notes has as it subtitle, ‘orchard fruit growing: methods, research, history & culture.’ The link is to the home page which has a search bar – just type in damson. Or, you know, any fruit you’re interested in. There are any number of recipes as far back as the 1600s, which, of course, are interesting.
Growing (damson) plum trees: I have no particular comments on any of these videos. They have a range of interesting information, not all specific to damsons.
Damson plum tree – grow, care and harvest 5:42
Growing plum trees from seed Rob backyard grower 7:42
And this one is the 51 month update…
The Bernwode Fruit Tree Company in England has a lovely online catalogue with some general information about plums as well as an extensive list of the varieties they sell:
http://www.bernwodefruittrees.co.uk/index.htm
While this site isn’t about selling (or buying) trees, it does show the differences between damsons, bullaces, and sloes:
Sloe, Bullace, or Damson? 5:46
Pruning fruit/damson/plum trees
Pruning some old damson plum trees: Stephen Hayes 15:47
Pruning old fruit trees: Stoney Ridge Farmer 22:09
How to prune a damson tree, rejuvenating a damson tree 10:20
Diseases: this link is fairly brief and does include a number of disease of fruit trees in general, if you scroll down far enough. It looked to me to be mostly the same information whether the disease was being described for damsons or fruit trees in general. But, it does appear that damson isn’t susceptible to ALL the diseases that might plague a fruit tree.
Damson plum tree diseases (article, not a video) Charmayne Smith, 2017
https://www.gardenguides.com/112237-damson-plum-tree-diseases.html
Damsons: how to grow and enjoy them (article, not a video), Phoebe Jayes in The English Garden magazine. Being a more or less British fruit, the article is more specific than some of the American links I’ve provided that are more likely to deal with plums than damson plums. And this article includes a jam recipe plus health benefit information. What’s not to love!
https://theenglishgarden.telegraph.co.uk/expert-advice/gardeners-tips/growing-damsons/
Although this website seems not to have been updated since 2014, it has recipes, ideas, snippets, videos and more! And a great name: Shropshire prune damson: small plum… big attitude:
http://shropshireprunedamson.com/
There are, of course, about a billion recipes online, complete with videos in many cases, on how to make damson jam and variants. I just picked a couple that seemed informative plus that included some more unusual recipes. Some of the other websites/articles that are broader in terms of topics include a number of savory recipes, as does the book itself, of course.
How to make the best plum jam using Damson plums 25:21
Spiced plum butter, Leo James, 2:19
Making Damson Hoisin Sauce Sally Pointer 11:41
How to make damson gin by Daiv 5:19
Not my favorite gin video but he is the person who wrote THE damson informational pdf (which is free). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc_vsZ_CLl8
The damson liqueur video I like. Mostly, I think, because he makes the liqueur with both vodka and gin (not at the same time!) and then does a little taste test. Apparently, he also made the vodka and the gin. Hobby Distiller 4:05.
Damson products for purchase
Damson+Co from New Zealand… Okay, I suspect none of us will be shopping here any time soon but it’s pretty interesting and I love the label on the Damson Plum Liqueur bottle. Not that they’re especially interested in shipping to us since after the NZ shipping rates of $8-13, shipping to the rest of the world is $140!
https://thedamsoncollection.co.nz/collections/damson
I have found a couple other sites but of course when I went to search and find the link to put here, I can’t find them.
When you’re in the US, pretty much the only damson product you’ll find is jam. The brands I could find were Tiptree, Bonne Maman, and the Trappist Monks (who have an AMAZING selection of all manner of jams… I would buy one of each, perhaps several of each if I ate that much jam…
Some artisanal sorts of places do make and sell some damson products in the US:
https://www.junetaylorjams.com/conserves/conserves.htm
Sizer’s pdf mentions dyeing with damsons and a story of how British soldiers in WWII went off in uniforms dyed with damsons. Generally accepted as not true but a nice story. Jenny Dean, a natural dyer, tested the story and her website has hanks of cotton, linen, silk, and wool with a variety of mordants and the answer remains, no, not likely: https://www.jennydean.co.uk/dyeing-with-damsons/.
Jenny does cite other evidence/reports/stories of damsons being used to dye straw hats (and I think I read somewhere else – ladies gloves). Given the pastel colors produced by the dye tests this does seem possible, particularly for an item of clothing that wouldn’t receive a lot of hard wear or have to survive many years.
Maria Sybilla Merian’s Metamorphosis of a Small Emperor Moth on a Damson Plum (artwork completed in 1679) 5:19
I couldn’t help myself… While not a damson, here is a time lapse but instead of the beautiful blooming flowers we’ve been more likely to see, this is a rotting plum. 4:26