Sunday, July 26, 2009

Berry Time

Yes, it has come to that time of year again. Blackberry season is upon us. While we grow most of our berries for the birds they have to share these blackberries with us. As you can see we are going to have plenty. This is our first ripe blackberry. I did the right thing and let my DB eat it. Now the he and the birds are going to have to be quick to get any more.
The birds have plenty of berries to look forward to such as these Hawthorn berries that will soon be turning their fall orange color.
There are Soloman's Seal berries for the taking.
The Viburnum out front looks ready for the birds too.
This blue cedar is expressing itself with berries growing right beside...
the French Honeysuckle that has those beautiful shiny bright berries that the Robins and Catbirds like so well. These won't last for long I can tell you. Sometimes you hear a fuss going on between them when both try to dine at the same time.
Do you have any berries in your garden at this time of year??

40 comments:

  1. Gosh Lisa....your blackberries are way ahead of mine....some of the bushes still have flowers on.

    I have haws....rose hips (which the birds are already taking)...hypericum berries and dogwood.....

    I felt autumn these last few days.....I feel strange saying that but it is true. I do hope that is does not come too early....

    Lovely fruity post.....

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  2. How nice that you've made an arrangement with the wildlife to share your bounty. I'm letting veggies like lettuce and fennel go to seed for my wildlife to enjoy. I hope to harvest enough fennel seeds to make a crunchy, seedy bread.

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  3. Blackberries don't grow in our neck of the woods though they are prolific at the coast.

    The wild strawberries have just finished and the saskatoons are coming on.

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  4. Lisa how I love the blackberries..but here we call them raspberries.plump and red! I have the winterberry which looks so striking against the winter snow and holly berries..green now but soon will turn red!
    Wishing you a "berry" nice day!

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  5. What a plethora of berries, Lisa. Those black berries are so beautiful - I feel like I could reach into the computer and eat them! I have no idea if I have any berries, I'm ashamed to say. Other than my strawberries. I will have to go out and look tomorrow.

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  6. Lisa,blackberries are my favorite! Cobblers, jam, cakes and over icecream-yummmmm.

    Still a little early here for them, but what I have sen growing in the wild look really big. I think all the rain and cooler weather have helped.

    Not many berries in my garden though. The birds will just have to settle for sunflower seeds.

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  7. These berries are making me very hungry--and thirsty. Wonderful stuff.

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  8. I remember going blackberry hunting as a kid and our neighbor would fix a cobbler as our reward. Love them!

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  9. Wonderful berries at your place, Lisa! Yes, we have them, too. Still some straggler strawberries, which the birds love. Blueberries, too - in fact, they ate nearly all of those this year. Next year, we'll net the bushes.

    Hawthorne berries, enough for everyone, since we have several of those trees. Viburnum and still some Serviceberry berries.

    We were geocaching along an old railroad bed this weekend and we had us a BIG snack of blackberries and mulberries! YUM!

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  10. Dear Lisa,
    The berries are just beginning to ripen. The Crab Tree is covered with fruit this year as are the Hollies. I think the cool wet Spring and Summer has made a huge difference. I have a stand of Poke Weed in my vegetable garden. The berries are almost ripe. Mockingbird's favorite!
    It is to be hot and humid this week. Ripening weather!
    Wonderful post!
    Sherry

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  11. I have a few berries coming on here and there for the birds, but I would love to have some for us to eat like your blackberries. They look yummy!

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  12. My viburnums don't have berries yet (I think). Hmmm, I need to go and check up close! :)

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  13. Momma use to put us in the blackberry patches every summer! She made tons of jelly and needed plenty of berries to do it. Oh how I use to hate all those terrible redbugs!--Randy

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  14. Our raspberries and mulberries have come and gone. I love your honeysuckle and hope to add one this or next year.
    Marnie

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  15. Wild blackberries grew abundantly in the woods around our home when I was growing up. I remember my mother picking them. You had to careful about snakes.

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  16. Are any of the other berries edible to you? Our raspberries are the best ever this year. I think all the rain has done wonders. I love blackberries and we have a few scattered around the land but boy are they prickly!

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  17. Your photos are scrumptious and with all those different kinds of berries the birds must love you, Lisa!

    I don't remember seeing Blackberries until we came to Texas and they were in every grocery. You can drive an hour or so to get to the you-pick places. Northern IL winters used to be too cold for blackberries.

    In Illinois we grew red raspberries and wild black raspberries and this would have been prime time for them.
    They won't grow here - my garden has nothing for people but we have Burford and Yaupon hollies and native purple Beauty Berry for the birds. Think the hot little Chile Pequin peppers count as berries, too.

    Thanks for the refreshing post at the end of July!

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

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  18. Yes, your blackberries are about a month ahead of ours--maybe more. My Ilex verticillata are in bloom now, so hopefully we'll have lots of berries on them come fall. We have black chokeberry, amelanchier, highbush cranberry (Viburnum) red osier dogwood and of course rose hips. I also planted three wild raisins (V. cassinoides) last year but I don't expect them to fruit for another year or so. My weeping Chamaecyparis also has cones on it, and the spruce are loaded, and there will be berries on the bittersweet...all of this later, of course. I love providing food for the birds, just not the deer or raccoons!

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  19. Hi Lisa, your blackberries look so delicious! We've got wild strawberries in our garden and a few raspberries. The black and red currants are already in the freezer...
    Katarina

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  20. I am drooling over your perfect blackberries. All your berries are lovely, and make a nice change from blooms. I was just noticing yesterday that my Caulophyllum berries were turning blue, and the few Cornus alternifolia berries the squirrels hadn't devoured yet are turning black.

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  21. Beautiful berries in your garden!
    I've got cherry tomatoes....does that count? They LOOK berry-like : )

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  22. ¡Hola Lisa!
    Those berries look so nice!
    Over here we are in winter, a strange winter with some hot days and some very cold ones.
    I can imagine all those birds visiting for the berries :)
    Besos from PerĂș,
    Mel

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  23. Randy, we always had to be careful not to get chiggers when I was a kid.

    Phillip, no snakes in my blackberries. I wish there were so they would eat some of the other pests in the garden.

    Nan, we have the thornless blackberries. This is much appreciated.

    Judybec, tomatoes are fruit so I would think the small ones could be considered berries. You have my permission to call them what ever you want to. tee hee...

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  24. Lisa, I have lots of berries that please the birds (viburnums are looking better each day)...but sure wish I had a few blackberries for me! gail

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  25. Beautiful Lisa! I really enjoyed your post! I have blueberries, cherries and honeysuckle that I know of for sure. I didn't realize that the birds liked the honeysuckle - thanks for the info!

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  26. Gee, you have a lot of berries and ours are just beginning. I will go check tomorrow to see what I have missed.

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  27. We have some of the same as you but nothing edible for us. Luckily our neighbors let us raid their blueberries and raspberries while they were on vacation.

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  28. Great days of harvest, you are a few week ahead of me. My blackberry flowers has just bloomed over.
    Lovely post Lisa.

    Greetings from Tyra in Vaxholm

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  29. Beautiful berries one and all -- and especially the one ripe blackberry.

    The peak of our wild blackberry harvest was in late June since we are farther south. It's odd that our surprise lilies are blooming at the same time, though. Evidently temperature has little to do with their cycle.

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  30. Hi Lisa, a joyous berry explosion at your place! How sweet of you to let DB have the first too. You are just a gem. :-) It is looking like a good berry year here as well. The elderberry has the most ever and the winterberry hollies have lots of little green promises for a colorful fall. I love your blue viburnum berries. We planted several a couple of years ago, for the berries, including some called Cardinal Candy. No berries on them yet but Winterthur and Brandywine both have some. Blue Muffin got pruned but will have a few. The birds should be well fed this winter. :-)
    Frances

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  31. We planted some berry bushes this year, but then Sadie decided to take a nap on top of them and that was the end of the berry bushes.

    Yours look so scrumptious! I am determined to replant (and this time I will fence the area off!)

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  32. Brilliant berry feasts for the birds and yourself! Every time I see pics like these I say to myself I wish I had more berries in my garden but space and location are difficult. Well done you for having such a mix :-D

    Wishing you a great weekend at home or out birding :-D

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  33. A veritable feast for our little friends. We have lots of dogwood, both kinds and I grow my own rasberries. What fun for everyone.

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  34. Oh, "ain't that the berries" as my MIL says. She doesn't mean anything good by it, but I do. I love berries, and most of them (blackberries excluded) are so hard to grow here. You enjoy them for me.~~Dee

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  35. Actually there are red currant berries and some wild strawberries ripe in our garden. And soon there will be the elderberries coming too. Oh, I forgot we also have the berries of the cornus mas which can be harvested and cooked as jam. All the other berries and fruits of the trees belong to the birds as well :-) !
    Summer greetings,
    Barbara

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  36. Those berries look so pretty, and the blackberries will be delicious, I'm sure. Do you make desserts with them, or just ejoy them a la natural?
    I'll have to check and see if our black rasberries are getting ready.
    I noticed the pretty berries on my honeysuckle yesterday.
    You have such a nice variety of berry-bearing trees and shrubs in your yard.
    Love those naked ladies too :) I don't have any, unfortunately. Such a pretty color.

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  37. Those blackberries look scrumptious. Ours are ready to harvest in June because August is way tooooo hot for any type of berries in Central Florida.

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  38. I love blackberries. I plan to have a patch, and I will make sure to have a big enough patch for me and the birds!

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  39. Wow! Darling shot!
    I love the sweet red berry!
    Happy day Lisa:)

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  40. Yum! If I could just head over there with two bowls of home-made ice cream... one for you and one for me! :-)
    I believe my viburnum have berries, and my pagoda dogwood should... I don't have much else. Oh! My Solomon Seal are sporting "berries." ;-)

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