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Showing posts with the label thornless blackberry

Thornless Blackberry Blessings

Thornless Blackberries are the most prolific fruit in our back garden. Thornless (or prickle-free) blackberries are a cultivar of other blackberries -- maybe wild blackberries, but most often, other commercial varieties, such as loganberries. Wild blackberries still spring up with wily abandon on most empty lots in the Pacific Northwest (Canada and the USA).   When we came to Vancouver Island nine years ago this Fall, I was thrilled to hike around our neighborhood berry patches with a pail every summer.  Most of our neighbours were quite incredulous at my  industry-- why was I picking so many berries?  Most of them picked enough for a pie or a few jars of jam, and that was it.  The novelty had worn off.  They had so many other wonderful fruits and berries to choose from, many growing in their yards.  At the time, my husband and I were falling in love with-- actually, fast becoming addicted to-- green smoothies.  We were amazed by the simple abundance of the FREE blackberries.  W

Organic Gardening in my Yard and Garden- Early June 2012

The following pictures are of aspects of our front, side and backyard that I have been working in/on.  Today was a splendid point-and-shoot picture-taking day. Ancient Apple Tree with Comfrey and Digitalis at its base attempting to nurse it back to wellness. This almost looks like it could be some cutesy flower box on Pinterest, doesn't it? It's really our deck step with weeds poking through-- shame, shame! Lupins in the sideyard where no one gets to see them-- therefore, do they exist? (next 2 pics also) Our expanded "Kidney garden" in the front... the multi-colored orange bark mulch was recentlly laid down and will, I hope, have more interesting features as time goes on.  Daylilies, catnip, irises, fragrant Asian lilies, lavender, and other stuff grows here.  In the mulched area is a fig  tree (bearing this year we hope) and an infant Azalea I bought last year at Canadian Tire.  It had a nice show of magenta blossoms in the earlier S