Perennials are an investment.  That is, you put them in the ground, and then sooner or later – two, three, five, ten years down the line – you hope to have fruit or flowers.  So it is with many plants in my garden, and I’m in year three or four with a lot of them – gooseberries and pomegranate, for instance.  Last year, both seemed to almost hit puberty, producing (finally) a few flowers and a fruit or two.  This year is going to be the year – I can feel it.  The gooseberries are covered in fruit (and thorns), and their relatives – the red and black currants – are going off.  These are unripe (and thus green) red currants:

Last year the pomegranate managed a few showy flowers, which it aborted once they began to swell.  It did produce one small fruit, and I have a feeling that this season will be the one.  Not so much the kiwis, which are maybe in year 4, and which produce lush, vigorous vining growth, but have yet to flower.  Once in a while I luck out. This fig went into the ground just last year (2010), and is already fruiting.  I suppose it depends on conditions, the characteristics and age of the plant, etc.  I love Fig Newtons, but am not a huge fan of fresh figs – I’ll need retraining.