Oregon grape grows wild in this area. We allow a few shrubs to grow in the garden; it's an attractive plant, with evergreen leaves, thick and prickly like holly leaves. Dropped leaves turn a brilliant red, very pretty. In the spring, the shrub bears bright yellow flowers, which produce small purple berries in the summer.
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| Fallen leaf |
The berries are ripening up nicely; I tasted one this evening. It was a bit sour, but palatable. Maybe I'll make some
jelly; it's good alone or made up half-and-half with blackberries or
salal.
Meanwhile, the birds and the snails are getting their share:
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| Green berry, ripe purple berries, half-eaten berries, showing the two seeds inside. And a hungry snail. |
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| Another snail, sleeping off a heavy breakfast. |
We have quite a few Oregon Grapes around the place, and also a few blueberries. One of the weird traditions we've come up with over the years is to slip a (very sour) Oregon Grape berry in with a handful of (wonderfully sweet) blueberries; and trick my mom into not noticing until she bites down.
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