Blackberries!

Whatever trials and tribulations, successes and failures there may have been over the past six summers, one thing remains gloriously constant: the bounty from the wild blackberry that was in situ long before we bought the house, long before Pat and I spent a weekend in the 1990s fencing in the sunny corner of the plot.

It gets trimmed back every autumn. That’s it for plant care. It’s never been given a drop of water. But every summer it produces more blackberries than I could possibly eat. I always give Pat some. I always end up with bags of blackberries in the freezer to keep me going over the winter. I always have lots of blackberries to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Yes, it sometimes scratches me, but that’s a small price to pay. (Oh, and the bees love the berry blossom.)

This bowl is the first of what will be many pickings over the next few weeks.

I filled half the bowl from inside the garden. For the other half I had to go round to the road to pick the ones hanging over the fence.

Over the past few summers a number of little pine trees have sprouted on the other side of the garden fence. I didn’t try to stop them. They provide a bit more privacy and they deter bloody Bambo. So, no problem.

Well, that’s not quite true. 

When I carried the blackberry bowl around to the road, I discovered the little pine trees had grown to the point that I couldn’t actually get to the fence (and the blackberries). Thus the inclusion of the secateurs in the photo. A great deal of pruning was required before I could start filling the bowl again.

Job done. Access created. Blackberries picked. And now I’m going to have some for breakfast. Yum!