Thinking about a future with berries...

I love berries!

This weekend I spent a lot of time at home working in my garden.  I am really excited about all the berries that will hopefully ripen in a lovely way in the future.  I have to be patient though. 

I planted a strawberry patch last fall and this spring thanks to two dear friends who donated a bunch of plants to me.  I weeded, planted and heavily mulched the patch yesterday and I'm happy with the results.  Now comes the hard part.  I've heard that you should remove all the flower blossoms the first year so that the energy that would have gone to the fruit will go back into the plant.  I should get a bumper crop next year.  I wish I didn't have to wait for fresh homegrown strawberries and homemade strawberry shortcake but I'll have something really worthwhile to look forward to next year.

It looks like the raspberry plants will produce a bunch of berries for the first time this year!  There appears to be a lot of blossoms.  Raspberries are my favorite.  In July I can easily eat a pint a day. 

Last year I pruned the blueberry bushes which reside in the patch outback, past a nice space of partially cleared woods.  It's really fun to have a berry patch that is separate from the main garden area, a little hike through a beautiful area of trees and soft ground cover.  Here is the view as I hike out to the blueberries.  I have to cross a small stream to get there.

There are tons of blossoms on the bushes right now.  I think there is about four times the amount of blossoms compared to last year.  The pruning has paid off or at least seems like it will.  We'll see kind of yields I'll get when the fruit matures. 

See the bee pollinating the flower on the lower right side of this photo?

I strive to live in the moment but sometimes I really have to exercise patience when gardening.  I think I love gardening so much because of the ever changing landscape.  Everything has a time, place and season in the garden.  I design and nurture the space but after that the rest is up to the sun, air, insects, time and mystery.  There are surprises and there is real fruit to look forward to from all the labor.  So here's a toast to many happy years of berry picking and eating!