Blueberries reminded me that blackberries would make a great screen for the back fence. They grow prolifically and can be rooted by holding down the trailing branches against the soil. Who thought of that, I wonder.
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| Plantain is medicinal, they say. Indians called it "White Man's Footsteps," because the plants appeared wherever Europeans settled. |
Almost Eden has me pegged as a birdfeeder, so he agreed blackberries would be a bonus as a green fence and haven for birds. Guests might even pick some. The initial start is on the sunny north side of the house where I only grew weeds - plantain - before.
I denied having plantain one time, then found it on that neglected north side of the house. We covered the plantain patch with newspapers and cyprus mulch. Weeds like to peek out the corners of mulch, so now I have tall seed stalks and deluxe leaves growing on all the edges of that mulch. I water the blackberries there, so the plantain benefits. No sidewalk, hell-strip, dusty growth for them. Herbalists will raid my patch if they find out.
The new triple crown blackberries will be tied up along the back fence, to grow green and dense, but without thorns. I even borrowed a tool for that tying up.
The funny part was talking to Little Almost Eden, the two+ heir of the nursery and gardens. When the car was loaded with vines sticking out of each window, we both started laughing. It looked like a green monster was inhabiting the front and back of the Ichaboat.
Little AE wanted Sassy there, because our dog came along for the blueberries. They hit it off right away, but it did not work out to bring Sassy on a longer trip that included waiting at the store.
Mrs. AE, Grandma AE and Grandpa AE were all there. Bloggers name people after their blogs and websites for fun and to avoid names. The business is a family concern, a former dairy farm and a real blessing 1/2 block away.
Soon they were off on a trip together and I went to the store with my blackberries poking out of three windows. I worried about them being stolen at the Walmart, but then I thought, "Who steals blackberry plants?" I could ID them in a second.
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| Beautyberry is also medicinal. Did God plan this all along? |
As a bonus I got another Beautyberry, which will be a reserve food for the birds late in the season. The fruit is supposedly bitter but quite attractive.
The AC is out for the day and should be fixed tomorrow. Ambition lags in this heat and humidity, but the corn and tomatoes like it.