Berries Ideas, Tips & Guides

Nature has a unique knack for mixing beauty and practicality, and Black Birds with Yellow Beaks are a great example of this blend. As we discover these special birds, we’ll learn about their fascinating charm, where they live, and how they interact with their surroundings.

From promoting vibrant blooms to managing pests, this article will guide you in growing Pink Snowball Tree with expert care tips.

More and more these days, the media is full of stories of superfoods – usually fruits with high concentrations of antioxidants. The blueberry led the superfood charge, but has been left behind by newer and more exotic rivals, such as acai berries, goji berries and the yumberry.

Just over a week ago I spent a couple of hours at the Eden Project, so I thought I would show you some of the more unusual edible plants I came across while I was there.

Today’s guest post is from Vanessa – she blogs at Esculent et cetera.

I’m sure my parents didn’t know when they named me (and still don’t!), but Emma is the Tibetan word for a spice – the dried berries of Zanthoxylum species, more commonly known in the UK as Sichuan pepper. I really must replace the two species I had, which didn’t survive life on the allotment.

Wimbledon fortnight coincides with the height of the strawberry season here in the UK and the humble strawberry becomes world-famous as tennis spectators tuck into strawberries and cream in front of the cameras. This year it even looks like they’ll be able to leave their raincoats at home!

I’m not a chemist, but I do find plant chemistry (and the links and patterns between different plants) to be a fascinating topic. Fortunately there are chemists out there who can bring these to our attention, and Compound Interest includes some great plant-related infographics amongst a wider spread of chemical topics.

I had a bit of time to do some garden things this morning, and finished my sowing list for the spring season, and sowed a batch of agretti seeds.

I’ve mentioned the TomTato and the Egg & Chips plants before – they’re exclusive to T&M, grafted vegetables that grow two crops – potatoes combined either with tomatoes or aubergines. Now opinion is divided as to whether they’re genius space savers or a novelty that won’t give you your money’s worth on either crop. But if you’d like the opportunity to decide for yourself then they’re on offer today – you can buy a pair of plants (one of each variety) for just £4.99.

In my occasional series, “When Plants Attack” we’ve seen some of the ways in which plants can defend themselves. So far I’ve covered the chemicals they produce to discourage other plants from growing in their space (allelopathy) and the conventional weaponry they use to guard against a physical attack. I am planning more posts to continue the series, which will include a look at the chemical defences plants have evolved to protect themselves against being eaten. But as soon as a plant evolves a defence mechanism, predators will begin to evolve or develop a way to counteract it. For example, some insects can collect poisons from the plants they’re munching on, and use them as part of their own defences. But until now it has seemed as though plant-eating mammals change their behaviour to cope with toxic plants – e.g. by changing how they forage for food, or by eating dirt (geophagy) to detox.

Ever since we started building this new garden, I have been pondering what I would grow in 2016 – it’s first season as a complete (I hope!) garden. It has been hard to decide. During my garden-free years I built up a long list of things I really wanted to grow, but couldn’t. I can’t grow them all at the same time, so which ones to choose? And, to be honest, my gardening mojo has yet to fully return. I’m not feeling the same pre-season excitement as I used to. So whilst I have had some ideas about what I might grow this year, I’d been avoiding putting them down on paper and finalising a garden plan.

It’s horrible this morning – windy and very wet. But there is a silver lining to these clouds; the rain is filling my water butts, courtesy of the new guttering Ryan and his dad fitted onto the two sheds yesterday morning. Ryan chose white guttering and fittings, which fit in nicely with the colour scheme for the sheds, although the paintwork is looking a little grubby now and could do with touching up!

I haven’t been able to spend as much time outside as I would have liked this month. The weather has either been far too hot, or very wet, and I have been pretty busy inside. On Saturday morning I took advantage of a couple of cool and dry hours to become reacquainted with what’s going on in the garden:

Header image: Phil Sellens, CC BY

When the weather is warm, it is great to be able to reach into the freezer and enjoy a healthy treat. Better yet, popsicles, sorbets, or fruity ice creams can all be made using produce you have grown yourself in your garden. Hyper-local and packaging-free, making your own is the eco-friendliest way to go.

Finding the perfect piece to add to your home decor, whether it is a statement piece or the perfect complement to items you already have, can be difficult (if you're not looking in the right place).

Our gardens can be valuable habitats for birds, providing nutritious food, nesting sites, and life-saving shelter, especially during the coldest months when overwintering birds are challenged. If we are mindful of these basic needs as we design our beds and borders, we will be rewarded with a landscape rich in birds. Here are some things you can do to help our feathered friends when times are lean.

Jobs to do each month:

Tomato plants are a staple in many gardens, but did you know that there are weeds out there that can easily be mistaken for them? From horse nettle to black nightshade, check out these Weeds that Look like Tomato Plants.

Georgia, with its varied ecological landscapes, is an ideal place for wild plant enthusiasts. The state, from the mountains to the coast, primarily spans USDA Hardiness Zones 6b to 9a, with pockets of 6a in the mountainous regions and 9b in the coastal plains. This wide range of zones fosters an array of Wild Edible Plants in Georgia that you can also grow in the garden.

Can I grow acai berry trees? Often compared to the blueberry for its similar nutritional benefits, acai products made from this trendy superfood have been finding their way onto grocery store shelves. But due to their short shelf life, fresh berries are difficult to purchase outside acai berry growing zones. Learn all about how to grow acai berries at home.

Summer is still here, and it is still HOT. What could be better than a glass of lemonade to beat the heat? As we approach the last few weeks of summer, preparations for the change of seasons begin. Youth and adults navigate the start of a new school year, retail stores reset for upcoming holidays, and small and large farmers transition into fall crops, winding down harvest of summer produce like tomatoes, corn, and blackberries, making them harder to find at local markets.

Outdoor Christmas decorations are key in creating a cheerful and festive ambience during the holiday season. Whether you’re going all out, making your house and garden the envy of the street with elaborate light designs and displays, or you just want to welcome your guests with a simple hand-made wreath and some soft candle glow, we offer you suggestions on how to decorate a garden for Christmas to lift spirits and make warm memories during the cold days and nights.

Plants such as holly, ivy, and mistletoe had been used in celebrations long before the advent of Christianity and the Christmas celebrations we know today. Evergreens were used to ward off evil spirits and celebrate new growth during the Winter Solstice Festival as early as ancient times.

Read this Boysenberry vs. Blackberry guide to find differences and similarities between the two and get a clarity once and for all!

Seed collecting can be addictive. You may quickly discover you are surrounded by drying stems and paper bags but all you need is enough seeds for your immediate needs.

Pyracantha, can be a neat shrub with attractive flowers and magnificent red, yellow or orange berries. The white flowers in summer are followed by autumn and winter berries, in fact my shrubs are still in berry this March.

A prickly subject is our Berberis unless you pick with care.

Hippophae Rhamnoides also called Sea Buckthorn, is related to Elaeganeous and is shown here and below with it’s heavy crop of attractive Apricot coloured berries. The shrub can grow to over 15 feet but makes a nice ornamental feature. It flowers in spring followed by narrow silvery leaves through summer. Each plant is either male or female and you need both for pollination and only the female produces these great berries.

Snow on this honeysuckle Lonicera made it resemble a Christmas pudding. I must keep my pudding out of the shadows!

Best known in our household for flavouring gin the Juniper and it’s berries are multi-talented

Trees small enough for your garden can still provide a range of interest. That may be leave shape, blossom, berries, bark or colour changes. This selection grow 15-50 feet high with a maximum spread of 30 feet.

Every winter I am on the Oregon trail for garden scent. My best hope is the Mahonia (aka Oregon grape) which grows very well in various shady parts of my garden and flowers profusely in winter. Regrettably I find the much acclaimed scent is hard to detect but smell is not the only thing that gets up my nose! The rigid leaves have several vicious points on  the arrayed leaves and catch me out many times a year. This is partly due to a 6 foot shrub near my Japanese garden path. I don’t know what made me think Mahonia was suitable in a Japanese garden but there you go. As a deterrent to uninvited visitors the prickles make it as good as Holly and a close second to Berberis.

Some plants give double pleasure by producing berries after their flowers have already performed. Here is my top 5:

Early crocus amongst leaf litter, the only good litter feeding the soil Wet weather reflects on the tree roots There is still colour to be found not least on these Rowan berries Sorbus hupehensis Listers Mill in the afternoon light with a ring of trees on the horizon and in the foreground.