Planting elderberry, raspberries and today's garden.

57*, 30.05 in and steady barometer, 40% humidity, WSW 24 mph wind, fair

Today's Sky View:
The wind! YIKES. It sure is troublesome. Like that is news around here right? Last night I came home to my greenhouse in near ruin. It was barely holding together at all, two shelves had come undone as it was blown really hard and nearly tipped over despite the precautions I've taken. Luckily, they were two empty shelves that held only empty pots and now trays of seeds. I fixed it before going in and made sure it would stay together through the night. Its OK now and I even have seeds sprouting! So far I have Giant pumpkin, watermelon, dahlias, and giant red cockscomb seeds sprouting. How exciting!

Speaking of exciting, check out this bleeding heart!! Isn't she cute?

My berries galore strawberry is blooming already. It's loaded with blooms. Now if only the plant would be nice and send out runners for me. Since when do strawberries don't send out runners? If I'd known they didn't I would have bought more then one plant of this kind last year. They are so tasty and productive. Perhaps its a cross with a big strawberry and a alpine strawberry? That would explain the taste and the runnerless habit. That's just my guess.

Here are two more ugly tulips. I swear I'm NEVER buying box store bulbs again. They don't even match with each other. They were supposed to be an apricot toned mix. Apricot toned mix my butt. Its more like what ever leftover they found on the floor and swept up into a bag to sell mix.
Planting elderberry!

Step #1

Unwrap plant from plastic wrap packaging. It's ready to take off and grow! Nice roots too, make sure nothing is squishy or broken. I've got to say, these are the best mail order plants I've ever gotten (other then fruit trees). I was very happy with my Pinetree Garden Seeds plant order! I was iffy about ordering inexpensive plants as I've had bad luck in the past with other plant companies...real bad luck. but I was surprised and not disappointed at all with my order. I think I'm going to have to write Pinetree Garden Seeds a letter of appreciation.

Step #2- Plop that baby into a prepared spot in the ground, preferable where there used to be lawn (more lawn going bye-bye!!!). These guys like well draining but rich soil. The directions say to let it grow as it wills for the next two years only removing dead branches.

Planting raspberries!

Step #1

Find a spot in the lawn for your new raspberry bed.....more grass going good bye!

Step #2 Put the berry bushes into water to soak. I have 10 plants to soak.
Step #3 Start digging. My bed is 2 feet in width in full sun and well draining soil. It wasn't clay here, to my surprise, and water doesn't pool up in this area.
Step #4 Get Dirt. This is the free black dirt I go get from the community pile. I over filled the ancient wheelbarrow and tweaked my back dragging it over all the yard.
Step #5 After the new dirt is mixed into the planting bed, plant berries! A book I have says to cut the plants to a couple inches tall if bare root. I was afraid to do that but I took the plunge and did it anyway. I wanted to mulch it really well too but the free mulch pile was empty today. It will be refilled next week. That's too bad, I needed to do a LOT of mulching this weekend. But maybe that's good also, as I do have a sore back now.
Step #6? Wait until harvest and eat. I Might not get anything this year, but certainly next year will be berry delicious!

The guy in brown shorts...

Now why is it I'm always happy to see the UPS man?

Just arrived:
Concord grape, cranberry, 10 red raspberries, and a wild elderberry.

They are out of my strawberries and organic potatos unfortunatly :(.

Cats and Spring in the Garden

67*, 30.21 in and steady barometer, 54% humidity, ENE 9 mph wind, fair
Today's Sky View:

Last night was rough. Between swollen glands the size of baseballs, a sore neck, pain every time I swallowed, ears hurting, fever sweats, and the pup howling at coyotes who were howling outside, I did not sleep well at all! I feel better this morning but I know at night I will hurt unbearably again as the night time is when the infection likes to flare up in pain it seems. i do hope the antibiotics work fast!

I tried to embed a video of Osa intent on bulb destruction but Blogger wouldn't respond so here is a link instead.

http://s50.photobucket.com/albums/f310/freehiker26/Freya/?action=view¤t=9f21de99.pbr

Osa settling in the hay to sleep (her favorite spot).

Osa squishing bulbs.
Osa squishing more bulbs.
Freya instigating Osa to squish bulbs.

I think these are flower buds on my blueberries!

This is a flower bud on my clematis. This will be the year the plant leaps I hope!
In the shady lawn the violets are blooming. Did you know you can eat the flowers? you can eat them in salads, candy them for cake decorations, and even turn them into jelly?

The hawthorn is leafing. I like the red tinged leaves as they emerge.
First leaf of the year on the native tulip tree.
Hostas are starting to wake up.
Such a nice day again, but I should be resting even though I'd rather be outside planting seeds and weeding.

The First Turning of the Compost--Today's Garden

54*, 30.07 in and steady barometer, 93% humidity, S 5 mph wind, fog

Today's sky view: foggy with the sun trying to burn through.
Yesterday was the first hose hookup of the year, the first lawn mowing of the year, the first shed cleaning of the year, and I can not forget to mention the first sit out on the patio with Mr. Hyper relaxing with cold drinks admiring our hard work of the year. Well today was the first turn the compost of the year. It was starting to work again, in spots. It was really steaming already--thanks to rabbit poop! Anyway, it needed a bit of mixing up to even out the cooking so I turned it. Note to self: chop up morning glory and gourd/pumpkin vines much smaller as they take forever to break down. Maybe I will take the lawn mower to them first next time.

This pasque flower is opening!! Did you know this is a native plant to the plains? I DID NOT until I looked it up the other day on-line wondering what time of year they normally bloomed. Apparently they like sandy, gravelly, lean drier soils according to what I've read on-line. Well it's in the wrong spot for that! I planted it in rich acid mounded soil that my rhodie is growing in. Yet it survived the winter just fine and it's even blooming. If it starts going down hill, I will move it. But for now I will let it stay. It's my first official bloom of the garden of the year! (I'm not counting pansies, those were already in bloom when I planted them)

More Signs Of Spring

63*, Barometer: 29.94 and falling, 63% humidity, S 13 mph wind, mostly cloudy

A few more signs of spring:
Dwarf arctic blue willow 'Nana' leafing out.

Columbine waking up. This one was a self seeded one.

Also my baby apple trees are waking up. 2 have survived the winter--#5 and #6. #5 is the first to wake with the other fast behind.

Signs Spring Is Here To Stay!

49*, 86% humidity, SSW 9 mph wind, fair

Here are some things from the weekend that indicate spring is here at last!

Pansies in the garden centers!

Yellow Scabiosa is waking up.

Mystery bulbs have popped up. I thought these were daffodils when I planted them as the bulbs looked like daffodils from a neighbors yard but last fall a mystery pink flower emerged on a tall leafless stalk. Now there are leaves, but no flowers and the leaves just look a bit too wide to be daffodils.
It's barefoot season!
The cats like being outside now. Osa Yellow-Toes and Freya Milk-Face enjoying the sun.

Scensation lilac has green buds.

The blueberries are budded up.
Daylillies are coming up.

Spinach seeds have sprouted outside! Daffodil bulbs are bursting up.
Bee Balm is waking with new leaves. Remember, I grew these from seed last year.
I actually had iris survive this winter, and its putting on new growth!
Splish splash hardy geraniums are sending up leaves. Remember also that I grew these from seed last year. I hope they bloom this year!

Some things I don't have pictures of:

The street is filled with kids playing ball, riding bikes, and hanging out. Lots of cottontails in the yards. Neighbors have emerged from dark winter hibernation to clean up yards. Weeds have begun to sprout. Maples are in bloom. Wood ducks are nesting. Oaks have let go of their brown leaves. Sparrows are also nesting. Swallows are back. Horseflies and mosquitoes are making themselves known. I saw a butterfly, snapping turtle, and a garter snake. Neighbor kid got bit by same garter snake. Tomatoes are sprouting in the outside unheated greenhouse. Garlic is growing. I wore shorts! Clematis is budding out. Potatoes are in the ground. The smell of bar-b-q fills the afternoon air. And the long term forecast calls for rain drops not snowflakes.

I'm supposed to start tomatoes today...

But i just don't have the heart to mess with seeds today. Burying Sasha had been more difficult emotionally then I had thought. As we put her in the carefully excavated hole, wrapped in her favorite blanket with her hedgehog toy with care, I could only think that there was a wrongness about all this. This is what poor Sasha was reduced to, though I know it was only her shell laying there. Harder yet were those first clods of dirt to come down covering her. We found ourselves apologizing to Sasha. Mr. Hyper had to turn away, it was hard and I took the shovel and covered her for him as I could see he was in pain. The dirt was heavy and wet, full of clay once she was covered enough so that we could no longer see her, Mr. Hyper did the rest.

When it was done, we cried.

I can see her from the living room window. Sasha rests near the lamp post and between the rhododendron. I'll likely plant wildflowers over her, or something. But for now, I wish we had a layer of snow, 6" or thereabouts, so that I don't have to see the raw earth where she rests. I didn't realize that seeing it this morning would be so difficult either.

Playing in the dirt.

42*, feels like 38*, 85% humidity, SW 6 mph wind, fair

It's deceptively nice outside. I can't make myself believe that it will last though. I mean its been calm all week, hardly a breeze which is nearly unheard of around here. But I don't mind! All my garden is thawed, the ground workable. So I was out playing in the dirt, hand tilling up areas that needed a little cleaning up, mixing in leaves that had been decomposing over the winter into beds, along with Button's contribution of manure. I could very well be planting things like spinach today but I think I will wait until tomorrow and get some more black dirt to add to the clay soil where I wish to plant them. Many places where I have been working the soil now for 2 years are much improved! It's darker, more earth worms, more crumbly and less like modeling clay. Around the apple tree, for instance. That was modeling clay when I first planted the tree. Now it's quite workable even so early in the season. Its surprising what a little bit of leaves and hay will do. I tore up the alpine strawberries from around the apple tree. the Japanese beetles loved to hide in there and I don't need any more encouragement for them to hang around my apple, which has gotten devoured two years in a row despite hand picking every day. This year, I plan on a different approach to planting that bed. I was told by some veteran gardeners that four o'clocks lure beetles unlike anything else, and when they eat the four o'clocks, die. I also noticed that they were lured to my geraniums last year, and would die after eating the flowers. So, I am going to be doing a bit of experimenting this year by planting things around the tree and rose that are said to repel the beetles, and by planting things a little further away that are said to lure then kill beetles. It is heartening to note, that as I was messing in the dirt, I have found far less grubs then in the past 2 years. usually, they are everywhere. Perhaps my killing them on sight from the soil, and hand picking the beetles are starting to have an effect? I sure hope so.

As I was working that area, I discovered a surprise. Lady bugs had been hiding in a few weeds and the free hydrangea I got last year looks to have survived the winter just fine and even has green buds. Whats even more surprising, is that it had decided to propagate itself. One little branch had been laying against the mulch and rooted itself very well. I haven't moved it yet but I say I'm quite pleased by this development. I love surprises like that!

Over the winter I had attempted to feed the birds with 2 bird feeders and a high quality seed. Do you think they bothered to come try it? NOT ONCE. So I figured it was the placement of the feeders. However, I could not move the shepherds hooks as the ground was frozen solid. But today, I could pull them up easily, freshen the seed, and move the hooks to other places. Maybe now I will get some feathered visitors.

Fantastic Friday!

25*, feels like 15*, 63% humidity, NE 9 mph wind, cloudy, FLOOD WARNING

Friday, at last. Not that this has been a bad week (except for my grumpy butt syndrome yesterday morning) I am just glad the weekend is here. Having a WHOLE weekend off is exciting to me. It hasn't happened in a long while. This weekend I hope to hit the Heron Rookery about 20 minutes away, where the herons should be busy fixing their nests. I've seen plenty flying around in the area so I KNOW they are there. In other bird news, farmers fields are covered in birds, geese mostly. The air has been filled with their honking every time I go outside in the yard. Not birds, but that herd of deer I spoke of last week are still hanging around. Yesterday I even saw them in broad daylight near the road. They are getting brave. I KNEW I should of caged my young lilacs and blueberry bushes...... I guess I'm doomed to learn the hard way, always!

This weekend I will also be buying some rocks. It still irks me to think I have to BUY rocks. Any other time rocks would be all over the darn place and in the way. But when I actually NEED them? Nada. Still, it will be time soon to toss some seeds down in that spot, and I can't have them washing out to the street every time it sprinkles. I bet it will look nice too, when that is all said and done. Much better then that fake plastic bed edging I got free last year from my neighbor.

I'm also going to plant my seeds I was supposed to plant yesterday according to my seed starting schedule. Peppers, eggplants and brussels sprouts are on the menu for starting. Just out of curiosity though, I am going to calculate exactly how much a home grown pepper costs me from the seed up. I don't know if I'll like the answer, but that damn curiosity is itching at my brain again.

Pet and Plant Updates

Since I don't have much in the way of winter interest in my garden yet other then this dwarf arctic blue willow.....

I'm going to stay focused on the inside today. My old gal Sasha is in for surgery today, so while the dog is away, I've been doing a bit of spring cleaning. getting rid of a godawful amount of dog hair from the couches and all that. Just seemed like a good idea to do it now while I have no dog under foot. I found a billion cat toys hiding in various places and now both cats are in seventh heaven right now.

Buttons is doing swell. He's grown a bit and he's learning to use a litter box. He loves his yellow ball toy. He has a pink one two but he refuses to play with that one.

p
And this is what I get for taking a break on the floor...... Osa on the attack.

Plant updates--- Look at that catnip grow!
And the daylilies too.
These are the rose seed sprouting baggies. As you can see, there are still a lot of extras in there. But that's OK, the extras have come in handy as I've had to replace a few due to damping off. I gave the seedlings a dose of hydrogen peroxide and water solution yesterday to stop the problem. That's the trouble with rose seedlings....extremely susceptible to that.

The rose seedlings are growing.
New things under the lights. Broccoli is already sprouting, despite planting them just yesterday morning.
Hostas aren't doing much. They've been like this for a couple weeks now.

I can't forget the peppermint! Just think of the tea.....

Planted Today

32*, feels like 20*, 87% humidity, N 18 mph wind, light snow

So much for the taste of spring that we had last weekend! We are now covered in a blanket of snow again, with howling winds. it is said that this is the snowiest year in 30 years. All I know is this is the snowiest winter yet I've had since moving to Indiana. So, in protest and FAITH that spring will return in a timely manner, I sowed a few more seeds.

I sowed:

• Cabbage, Wirosa (2 pots) from a seed trader
• Nutri-Bud Broccoli (10 pots) from Pinetree Garden Seeds

I saw some cool things last night in the snow storm around midnight as I had come home later then normal because of the bad commute. 1st was a fox on the hunt. He was eating something. He looked up at me, thought about running, and then decided I wasn't going to bother him and continued eating what ever it was he had caught. Then, a bit later, I saw a large herd of deer. There were between 12-15 head in a neighboring farmers field. Good, stay there and quit eating my haunted lilac bushes! Why is it I never have my camera with me when the good things happen?

Fruit Line Up

32*, feels like 26*, 75% humidity, SSW 7 mph wind, cloudy, WINTER STORM WATCH

I'm going to be adding quite a bit of more edible landscaping/ fruits to my garden this year.

1. Wild Elderberry---on order, Pintree Garden Seeds
2. Cranberry, Stevens---on order, Pinetree Garden Seeds
3. Raspberry, Lantham-red--- on order, Pinetree Garden Seeds
4. Strawberry, Sparkle---on order, Pinetree Garden Seeds
5. Grape, Concord---on order, Pinetree Garden Seeds
6. Apricot, Goldcot---on order, Stark Bros
7. Pie Cherry, Northstar---on order Stark Bros
8. Pear, Bartlet---on order, Stark Bros
9. Pear, Beurre Bosc---on order, Stark Bros
10. Wintergreen, Very Berry---seeds, from Pinetree Garden Seeds
11. Rose Hips---both Rugosa and Virginia roses are known for their tolerance to difficult soils and climates. And, their rose hips are supposed to be awesome.

I have a new lover.

31*, feels like 20*, 78% humidity, WSW 16 mph wind, cloudy


I have a new lover. His name is Penstemon smallii. I bumped into him at the clearance table at the nursery in late summer. At first I wasn't too impressed with him. He seemed....cheep. So I did a background check on him and found out that they tend to like a more dry climate so I thought he and I wouldn't stand a chance together. Still, I helped him to move in next to Rhododendron, rooming with him on a small hill together because he had no where else to go. Surprisingly, once Penstemon put some roots down he's really grown on me. I mean his foliage is attractive-- and even despite hard freezes, ice and snow, and being surrounded by land that wants to be swamp, he looks perky and ready for anything. Next year I think our love will truly bloom. But seeing him today made my heart skip a beat. He did not look at all touched but the bad weather. I love a plant with a good attitude. I had no idea he would be evergreen in the winter.

Truth be told, I've always loved Penstemons. Every time I've seen them my heart has fluttered. I've seen wild ones growing in high elevations in the wild. I've seen ones that prefer swamps and meadows around here. I've seen dessert penstemons. I am almost ready to admit that Penstemons may be my favorite flowers.....

Moving on.......

Today I planted the Hellebore seeds. I had heard that viable seeds usually sink when you soak them. All of them were floaters. I hope that doesn't mean these guess aren't viable! Cross your fingers please. :)

Poinsettias at the greenhouse

33*, 92% humidity, calm wind, wintry mix, Freezing Rain Advisory

I became jealous of everyone showing pictures of trips to greenhouses with all the pretty poinsettias so I had to make my own trip out to see some. The greenhouse around here, the only one open this time of year other then box stores, is a small family owned one. But you have to have a lot of $$$ to buy some of the plants they sell here. This is where I got my $50 rhododendron and my $30 Dwarf Arctic Blue Willow. Usually you can talk the owner down in price a bit on most of the plants. He's willing to banter, and barter too if you have excess crops. But some things he will not budge on...like the Arctic Blue Willow which I guess is fairly popular seller there. No wonder since the land around here, if left to it's own devices, would rather be a swamp where such things flourish. The poinsettias are on sale today 2 for $80! Who in their right mind can afford to buy an $40 poinsettia they will likely throw out after Christmas? YIKES! But still, they are very pretty. Take a look at what I found:

This last one is my favorite. I like the snipped edges. Of course they had regular red ones too but I was the only customer in the shop today which made it awkward to take pictures because every employee was rushing over to see if i needed anything.

I once went on a garden tour in the coastal area of CA where I visited large scale flower nurseries for potted holiday plants and cut flowers. One of the places the tour took me was a major poinsettia grower. it was fascinating to see their propagation methods. If you ever have a chance to take such a tour I highly recommend it! For the longest time after I had wanted to work as a greenhouse employee.

My Pintree Garden Seeds Order has arrived!

28*, feels like 18*, 90% humidity, SW 12 mph wind, cloudy, 1.5" new snow fell over night

Last night when I got home from a pretty rough night at work and a long slippery drive home, there was a package on my doorstep. Now, I was THRILLED to see this package. After all, it was the thing that kept me going last night. "Maybe there will be a package on the doorstep!," I kept telling myself. And Lo and behold, there was! This thrilled me to no end. I brought it in and opened it quickly.
As you can see, I bought a nice assortment of books. Real drool material and the kicker...none of these books cost more then $4! Pinetree's books are always a great deal. I almost feel like I'm cheating them. Almost. All my seeds came except for my wintergreen and hosta hybrids mix which they were out of and the sprouting jar toppers were out too but hopefully they will come within a month because I can't use my sprouting seeds that came with the order without them and I really want to make sprouts!

The plants I ordered will be shipped between April and June (I hope April because I had ordered some potatoes and strawberries along with rhododendrons, raspberries, a grape, and cranberries). They sent me a coupon (as if I need any more encouragement to shop with them) for a couple dollars off my next order.

I bought a big bag of buckwheat to try as a cover crop. I was afraid of trying any of the perennial kinds for fear I may let something wild and hard to control into my garden. I've never used cover crop before and buckwheat sounded relatively harmless considering it can't take any frost and it doesn't take as long as others to do it's thing. Perhaps next year if using buckwheat is a success, then I will get braver and try a more nitrogen fixing green amendment.

It's the apple tree massacre!

24*, feels like 18*, 69% humidity, S 5 mph wind, cloudy, snow advisory

This morning when I let the dog out to eat snow or whatever it is she likes to do so much with snow, I took a brisk stroll around the garden to see how things look. My garden this winter has slightly more winter interest this year then the year before thanks to my rhodie, the new conifer, and a few bare of leaves baby shrubs. Still...there is much more that needs to happen!

Anyway as I stared at my apple tree I decided it was time to prune. As you know it is one of those multi-grafted trees with 4 types of apples on a dwarf rootstock. I've had them in the past back in CA, where i had a LOT of fruit trees but never with much success. A graft or two would usually parish the first year. Well not this one. It's done quite well and all the grafts took and grew. This is the second year I've had it and it has managed to grow some fruiting spurs for me so I MAY get some apples next year. (Crossing my fingers) But all the new growth looks kind of gangly with some branches shooting for the stars and some crossing. It's important to train a fruit baring tree right from the start. Despite having plenty of fruit tree pruning experience it's still a scary thing to pick up those pruners for the winter pruning. Out comes crossing inner branches, out comes the weaklings or the too-close Y's, shorten the long branches and make sure to cut an angle right above an outer facing bud...then step back and look and hope you didn't massacre the thing.

First Real Snowfall---6.9"!

23*, feels like 12*, 69% humidity, NW 10 mph wind, Cloudy, blowing snow
The apple tree (it still has leaves??)

The little Arctic blue willow. I had to brush snow off of it as it was laying flat on the ground this morning when I went to check on it. maybe that's how they survive the Arctic?

My rhododendron. I also had to brush snow off this in the morning.

The snowy veggie garden.

Blueberry peaking above the snow. Yup, it still has some of that long lasting color....

Garden Planning

32*, feels like 26*, 66% humidity, W 7 mph wind, cloudy

My main goals for next years garden is going to be something like this:

1) REALLY try to produce as much food from the garden as possible this year.
2)Eat as much as I grow or put up extra for the winter.
3)Add for future garden productivity (bushes, trees, more garden beds)
4) Rabbits for food and chickens for eggs--they add manure too.

I've estimated how many rows and plants I will need next year for each vegetable we typically eat. Now I've got to decide how I'll fit it all in my small yard. I can do succession plantings for some things like lettuce, beans and corn so I can squeeze more productivity out of the beds if I plan it carefully. And with the corn, I can use the same growing space at the same time for beans and winter squash to help with the space crunch.

Next, before the snow flies, I need to get out the measuring tape and start actually measuring my yard. I've NEVER done that. I really have no idea exactly how much space I have available! I need to measure my beds I have now, and the ones I plan on having next year.

I went through my seed inventory and need to order the following types of seeds: eggplant (I like small ones), watermelon, and giant pumpkin. That's the smallest seed order I think I've ever needed! Of course, I'm also going to be spending $$$ on other things in the garden like those fruit trees I keep talkin' about , a food mill for turning garden goodness into winter garden goodness, a kitchen seed sprouter, sprouting seeds, and garden's alive fertilizers and squash vine borer killer (organic of course) for the giant pumpkin patch. So all in all, I'll STILL be spending too much!

Yesterday, my pumpkin butter came out FABULOUS! Everyone who's tasted it has loved it. So here is the recipe if you have some spare pumpkins around that need to be used up.

10 cups fresh pureed pumpkin
2 cups sugar
2 cups light brown sugar
2/3 cups apple cider (but if I were canning it for storage I'd use lemon juice instead)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground ginger

Combine all ingredients into a large saucepan on the stove and turn it on low, stir every once in a while for about 4 hours until it's the consistency of a thick apple sauce. It makes 4 1/2 pints and it's worth the time. YUMMY!

Tomorrow, I'll talk about something else you can make with pumpkins that is surprisingly delicious and something I've never even heard of before until today thanks to a co-worker.

Monkey Brains Mystery

I was taking a walk at the park this morning when I came across this interesting fruit scattered about on the ground. to me, they look rather like brains. I had seen this over at the farm store sold as "Hedge Apple" and reputed to keep spiders and fleas out of your house. It has no odor and I doubt it could keep anything away.

On further inspection I discovered that it doesn't come from a shrub which I thought it would since it was called 'Hedge Apple' but that it comes from a fairly tall tree with orange stringy bark and simple leaves.
Looking in my tree book when I got home, I identified this as Osage-Orange. Mystery solved. I had never seen these before.

More pictures from my walk here: http://tiredsoles.blogspot.com/2007/11/morning-walk-fall-in-full-force.html

Favorite Shrubs

40*, feels like 36*, 47% humidity, SSW 6 mph wind, partly cloudy

(no color enhancement needed....)

If Carol from May Dreams Garden (http://maydreamsgardens.blogspot.com/) can blog about her favorite shrub, then I can too! So, what is my favorite shrub? I will tell you right now I have never been a fan of anything shaped like a round ball unnaturally by constant pruning. I have never liked anything too generic. You know the every house on the block has them lining their front door on either side kind of thing. So what have I chosen as my favorite shrub? Something that is actually USEFUL and PRETTY in ALL seasons.

What would that be you ask? Blueberry bushes. With blueberries you get a bit of everything and they look just as nice as a hedge in front of your house---even better then most shrubs in my humble opinion. Spring you get flowers and bright fresh leaves with tinted new growth. those pretty flowers turn into yummy berries as summer arrives which feeds you and the birds while plain Jane shrubs just sit there providing nothing back. They take pruning well, in fact the big ones need pruning to produce well. Fall comes around and WOW! Red. They turn the most amazing bright red. Who needs a boring for most of the year shrub like burning bush when you can have the same color from a more useful shrub? The colors are long lasting too--they have been going for a few weeks now. Winter you get reddish ste