A Grower Perspective

 A blueberry the size of a quarter! That's the nursery discovery of the day. Even though we grow a lot of blueberry plants of many different varieties- we don't normally see a lot of blueberries in the nursery. That's because we remove the berries so the plants put their energy into growing a strong healthy plant instead of producing berries. Every once in awhile though, a few blueberries sneak past. And what a surprise it is to see that 'Draper' Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum 'Draper') produces such a large, flavorful berry! Other blueberry varieties that produce large berries are 'Spartan' and 'Blueray'. 

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Memorial Day through Labor Day is the time to harvest lavender and to prune the lavender plant.

First, grab a handful of lavender, and using a hand scythe, cut the flowers from the plant. Repeat until all the lavender has been removed.

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Even though I work in the office, I try to get out into the nursery at least once a day, and I'm always glad I did because I find something exciting. Today that exciting thing was the Oregon Grape, Mahonia aquifolium. The berries are ready to be harvested! This is good news for me because it means that I will be making Oregon Grape Jelly soon. Oregon Grape, the state flower of Oregon is a native plant that is useful and beautiful in the landscape. It grows freely in sun to deep shade and tolerates all types of soil. In the early spring, it blooms with bright yellow flowers that contrast nicely with the deep purple leaves. It will grow to 6 feet tall to about 5 feet wide. The berries are ready to be harvested in the summer when they turn a nice deep blue.

Back to the grape jelly. Lucky for me,

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