I originally meant to share pictures from the flower garden, but those will have to wait because this theme presented itself and I can’t pass up a good theme! It’s autumn berry season, so here’s some that are popping up around our garden!
1. Lingonberries (Vaccinium vitis-idaea) grow in the forest surrounding our house. Some of them moved into the dry patch under the pines in front of the house, where nothing else really grows. They are very well-behaved little plants and currently offering us berries to make holiday dinner condiments with, so I see no reason to evict them.
2. Aronia melanocarpa ‘Viking’ lines the driveway and is getting a bit out of hand. We really should get around to pruning them back, but they are always dripping with berries this time of year and I hate to take away food that feeds wildlife over the winter. They’re also good for making really healthy juice, but you have to mix it with apple or something else to cut the strong astringent taste. There’s a reason they’re called chokeberries.
3. Guelder rose (Viburnum opulus) is also sporting very pretty red berries, but I won’t be trying to make jam out of those any time soon. I might cut some for a future bouquet, though.
4. ‘Zilga’ grape in our greenhouse always gives us lots of fruit, which I will probably make into grape jelly this year. They’re a cold-hardy Latvian variety that survives well outside of the greenhouse as well (this one has a sister vine growing on a trellis next to the sauna building) but the sheltered vine is much more reliable about producing a crop in time.
5. Hardy kiwi (Actinidia arguta) has fruited very well this year, probably because of the high temperatures and rain. Apparently I’ll have to pick them and let them ripen indoors since they take longer than we probably have before first frost.
6. Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus) is looking a bit odd and lumpy this year, which I am also going to blame on this year’s weird weather. Another berry that I will not be making into jam, but might very well put in a bouquet because it would be a nice contrast with red ones.
Thanks for visiting and please do check out what the other SoSers are doing over at Jim’s page!
15 responses to “Six on Saturday | 9th September 2023”
What a lovely array of berries. The snowberry gets a bit our of hand here, I have to keep an eye on it.
Our snowberry isn’t exactly under control either 😀 It just happens to be covering a side of the barn that we haven’t touched yet, so I’m letting it do its thing until I have reason to tackle the job lol
All very attractive, Angela. The only one I’m familiar with is the lingonberry. I don’t believe they grow here but I do remember my mother purchasing lingonberry jam at Christmas time. I’ve only seen chokeberries and snowberries in photos but I expect they’ll look beautiful in bouquets.
Yes, lingonberry jam and meatballs are an IKEA (and Nordic) classic for a reason lol. Though really, it’s not too different from cranberry if we’re being honest. Lingonberries just happen to be free to gather from the forest, whereas cranberries have to be bought from the supermarket!
What a coincidence! I have remembered more berries that are in my woodland, but they will have to wait for another post. It’s good to know that the birds won’t go hungry!
Yes, you should do a post about strolling through your woods! I was considering that for later in the autumn too, since mushroom season is now in full swing.
Lovely! My viburnum opulis got munched by viburnum beetle and died, such a shame as it’s one of my favourites and the bark has medicinal uses too. I love the idea of using snowberry in arrangements, I’d never thought of that!
Oh no! Sorry to hear that, it’s such a pretty shrub. I didn’t know about the uses for the bark but went to look it up and am intrigued. Thank you for that bit of knowledge, I love knowing about alternate uses for the plants in our garden. Never know when it might come in useful!
Love your berries! 🍇🍓
I don’t think I’ve bought berries since the garden started and it’s amazing! Especially since we go through a LOT of them for smoothies over the year.
I also grow these baby kiwis. I always have a lot of flowers and only a few fruits… Too bad. Another 1 month and they will be ripe here (while the common kiwi will be ripe in October-November). About grapes in your greenhouse, are they never attacked by powdery mildew or mildew? The foliage is superb and healthy.
Yes, that’s usually the case with us, too! That’s why I didn’t even bother to check on the kiwis until this past weekend and was surprised to find a decent crop. Probably not enough to make a jam from, but definitely enough for a nice snack next month 🙂 As for the grapes — no, the one in the greenhouse has never been bothered by anything, knock on wood. They say that the variety is very resistant, and I suppose that would be correct. Its sister vine, which lives outside, seems more prone to getting mold on the fruit, but doesn’t have leaf problems either.
A very good variety so ! 👍🏻 enjoy
What a great selection of berries in your garden, I’m sure the wildlife won’t go hungry during the winter months if they find their way to your home. Good idea to use your snowberries in a bouquet – that will be pretty.
Yes, we definitely see plenty of wildlife, given how we’re surrounded by forest. It’s a lot of fun to wake up after a big snow and look for tracks to see who’s been out and about.