I ordered more shrubs this week - a red chokeberry and "isanti" dogwood to add to a bed around a small deck; several arrowwood viburnums to plant as a border in front of a grove of hybrid poplars; and 2 more diablo ninebark to go in a foundation planting. I consider it "therapy". I get to go shopping and then play in the dirt. :-)

Do you have any pictures of your property to share?

Rita: You amaze me. You seem to have so much energy. I am also amazed that you can fit all of this on a lot in Long Island. When I visited once, I remember the average lot size was quite small. I have no idea if that is the same throughout the island though. You seem like the type that would love to move out to the country and have a big yard to spread all kinds of gardens into. I, too, would love to see pictures someday.

Vonyon- Long Island can be quite crowded but its not New York City here, thank goodness! I am very lucky as there are only houses here on my side of the street. Directly accross the street from me is a 16 acre park that leads down to an inlet of Long Island Sound. I can see the water from my living room picture window. The park is never crowded except for Holidays and its like living in a resort. Next to the park, so that you can walk directly from one property to another is a County Nature Preserve that is all heavily wooded. There are walking paths cut all thru there. If I get tried of walking in the open areas of the park, I walk in the woods next to the park.

I don't have a large yard but I have a yard that has multiple grade changes. Because of this, there are lots more spots that lend themselves to flower gardens and shrub boarders. The middle of the upstairs back part of the backyard (I literally have to go up a flight of stairs to get there) is a large veggie garden with all the sides of the yard in garden boarders. The furthest end of the veggie garden is defined by the 4 large Regent Serviceberry shrubs I put there in 2002. In from that, using space that was veggie garden and that I grew Buckwheat in last year, is the row of 5 Jewel Black Raspberries put in this Spring.

Think of the veggie garden as a large rectangle about 14 feet wide, with some lawn around it. I never measured how long it is. Then go to the opposite end of the veggie garden from the Serviceberries and thats were I put my row 2 feet wide of Red and Yellow Everbearing Raspberries, Yellow on one end of the Rasberry row and Red on the other. The outside edge of the Raspberry bed is where the end of the veggie garden used to be. In from the Raspberry bed is the new Everbearing Strawberry bed.

I lost some space that used to be veggie space but not that bad as I have 5 rows of Tomatoes planted, plus peppers, peas, pole beans, cucumbers, Brocolli, and Cantalope. The buckwheat patch is gone however. Not that I don't have Buckwheat planted elsewhere.

Next to the stairs and a patio near my kitchen door is Azalea Hill, where my big Azaleas cover the grade change going up and I have planted in Winterberies further down. Lady Fern grows amoung the Winterberry shrubs and its gorgeous.

Yesterday I spent planting an order that came from Raintree Nursery which was 2 more Blueberries (Brigatta Blueberries), and 6 Blackberry Shrubs. 3 Apache and 3 Arapaho erect thornless Blackberries. They went in an area that two years ago was lawn and last Spring was all mulched with a thick carpet of bagged Fall leaves that I save to use to make instant 'woodsey' places. Kills lawn too without having to dig up sod. Last Fall I dumped more leaves there and left it as I knew I would plant there just had not decided what.

In back of the Blackberries I would like to put some taller native grasses. I already have a Switchgrass I put in last year. All this is not very far from the Nanking Cherries, Cherry Laurel and Elderberries, which runs into the mostly Viburnum shrub boarder. It will all kind of grow together to make a bird attractive area and hopefully some fruit for me too before the birds get it all.

Anyway, I still have 2 mail orders coming. Also about 12 one gallon sized small Azaleas I bought in Home Depot this Spring for $4.98 apiece to plant in front of part of the shrub boarder (the shady part). Then I quit planting for this year. I swear!!!!! I am already tied of digging and intend to leave more additions for another year.

The last two years I planted all summer long and I am not going to do it this year. Would be nice to just enjoy the garden instead of constantly working in it all during July and August.

Well, my mail order came yesterday so I was planting a 'Surefire' Sour Dwarf Cherry, 'Tomcot' Hardy Apricot and 'Resi' No Spray Apple. All these came from Raintree Nursery. Lovely trees about 4 1/2 feet high. The Apricot and Sour Cherry are self fruitfull but the apple needs to be pollinized. If my Indian Magic Crabapple blooms at the same time as the apple, it will do it. They said the apple is a midseason bloomer but I have no idea what bloom period the crab apple falls in so we will see. I figgure I probably wil not be able to resists and will just order another apple next spring. Or get a 'Snowdrift' Crabapple.

I don't mind sharing my cherry fruits with the birds but hope that when the apples and apricots come that the squirrells don't eat them all.

There were also some Summer Red Raspberries with that order but the 'Royalty' Purple Raspberries that were supposed to be there were out of stock so no luck for me on them. Fortunately my Raspberries that I planted already late this Spring are all doing well. I should have some fruit of the yellow and red everbearers somewhat soon as they both have green berries now. Plus they are still blooming. On the Black Raspberries, I will have to wait until next year, at the earliest, to get fruit. Same on the Summer reds I just planted.

My Thornless Blackberries are not looking so hot. I planted them on May 20th but still no leaves or growth. Yikes. If they don't grow, it means I loose another year, as blackberries take until their 2nd year to bear. That is they fruit on 2nd year canes. I do have a thorney 'Kiowa' Blackberry I also planted very late this spring which is growing very well.

My Everbearing Strawberry patch I put in this May is growing exceptionelly well too. I had to pinch off blossoms so that the plants get established but I should get a crop later this year.

New Blueberry plants have all settled in well and leafed out. Four of them even have some blooms. As soon as these start to produce, I should be swimming in Blueberries all summer long. I got ones that produce from early to extra late to extend my Blueberry season. Catbirds really love Blueberries (so do the Orioles) so the Catbirds should be extra happy too. No shortage of blueberries for this year though, as my existing plants have set the largest crop in history. Can't wait to eat them!!!!

Serviceberries are showing the first signs of red blush on the berries. The Regents are SOOOOO loaded with fruit its unbelievable!

Bramble fruits are something I really planted because I really wanted to eat them myself but they will go well with the attract backyard fruit eating birds to my yard. Birds should like Raspberries and Blackberries just as much as I do.

I know they like cherries because they eat all the fruit off the top of the cherry tree (where I can't reach) every year there is fruit. I hope to distract them somewhat from new people eating cherry trees with the Chokecherries which are specificly for them. Then the Nanking Cherries and Dwarf Ground Cherries are both for the birds and me hopefully. Of course, I have yet to actually get any fruit from all the new stuff.

Rita, if your blackberries don't make it, let me know. I have a variety of thornless blackberry that is quite erect and definately hardy. The fruit is large 1+" and two of them will produce more than you can eat yourself.

~Chills (who is just following your link here from the fruit and orchard forum)

Chills- I called Raintree and they will send replacements next spring. Still a bummer as I had hoped for plants this year and berries next year.

Wow, what type of thornless erect Blackberry makes fruit that large? I know the fruit of Kiowa Blackberry is supposed to be very large, thats why I got one, but the darn thing is very thorney.

We added a lot of new (to use) fruiting shrubs this year. We ordered them from a catalog called The New American Orchard based in Oregon. We got among others, mulberries, goumi, thimbleberry, etc. The plants arrived in very good condition (all the way to Mass.) and all seem to be thriving.

Has anyone else heard of/ordered from this nursery? They had some very interesting selections I have not seen other places.

The Catbirds love to eat the Red Raspberries I put in this Spring but I may have fooled the birds because not once have they tried eating the berries on the Yellow Raspberries I planted.

My raspberries did set a good fall crop but I found that once the birds discovered the fruit, they were eating the berries before they got ripe so that I got very few of the red raspberries. I mostly ate the yellow raspberries that the birds ignored.

My Kiowa Blackberry plant still has green leaves now and looks like it did in summer, even though its January and we have had lots of freezes.

I am waiting on the replacement Blackberries from Raintree, which should be here any day now. I added a Nanking Cherry to the order to add to the ones I already have here.

My Brambles are all starting to grow, with the rasberries waking up first, the black rasberries next and the blackberries are just starting to get green buds now.

The blueberries I planted last spring look like most are going to get at least some blooms and thats about the best can be expected for young plants.

The Tomcot Apricot tree is blooming so I am very pleased with the trees I got from Raintree last year.

My red currants that I had planted not last spring but the spring before, are going to have a really nice crop this year. The Red Start and Rovada currants had fruit last year but not that much and the Jhonkheer Van Tets red currant has fruit this year for the first time.

Rita:
Your obsession is a benchmark for us all!

The Raintree catalog is mouth-watering, isn't it?
O

Have you ever tried dwarf fruit trees.Some are pretty small.I have them in barrel halves .large pots.cute with fruit on.My one necterine tree had about 20 fruits on last year.I also have the colonade apples the one was full of apples last year.Theyre in blossom now.

I have two mini-dwarf apple trees from Raintree that are blossoming now - a Liberty and a William's Pride. It's too early to let them fruit, though. Also, three blueberries and two fig trees. Everything is in containers, part of the "patio orchard." I still want a Meyer lemon, some blackberries, and a plum tree.

All my Goumi are blooming for the past 4 days or so. I have six of them in a row to form a hedgrow and when you get near that area of the garden, it has the most wonderful sweet scent! This is the first year that I have noticed how nice they smell, although it is the third year they are blooming. Still, this year is the heaviest bloom set so far, so that might be why I never noticed it before.

I personally love the taste of the berries although they would not be for everyone. Birds are supposed to really like the berries too but last year I never noticed any birds near the berries at all.

what are goumi?

Goumi are also called Cherry Elaeagnus (elaeagnus multiflora). They make wonderful tart berries that I absolutely love and birds are supposed to really eat these too.

Afew days ago I bought two Southern Highbush Blueberries to add to my blue berry collection that I found at a local nursery. Then today I found $6.96 blueberries at Home Depot in one gallon pots. They were older plants than the stuff you get mail order as the main stems coming from the ground were nice and woodey. But they were cut back so that there was all this new growth and flowers too. I got three plants, Chippewa, Hardiblue and Northsky. So that means I added 5 new Blueberry shrubs for myself and the birds to enjoy the fruit.

Hi Rita,

I'd love to know where you picked up your Serviceberries. I am in Mass, and there are a couple of nurseries in my area that have them, and whoa, they are over a hundred bucks apiece!!! Of course i have seen them in numerous catalogs, but they are micro mini sticks. I figure i will be dead and gone before they grow and mature to produce fruit, lol

I bought some of my Regent Serviceberies at a local Long Island East End Nursery but the really big shrubs I bought from Edible Landscaping and had them shipped. The shipping cost a fortune but I just had to have those shrubs.

Is this Edible Landscaping a Long Island place??? How big were your shrubs from both places, and if you don't mind divulging how $$$ were they??

Thanks Rita,

Marsha

I wrote a long post to answer this last night but somehow instead of posting it got zapped so I have to start over today.

Edible Landscaping is a mail order nursery in Afton, VA. The great thing about them is that they ship all year round so it's never too late to order from them. I had bought my four large Regent Serviceberries from them in the 3 gallon size which were $45.00 apiece. They they had to be shipped 2nd day since it was August so the shipping cost an absolute fortune.

I also recommend Oikos Tree Crops for the Northern Juneberries which are supposed to be another really productive type. Mine did not flower as yet so I can't say from personal experience but that it what it said in the Oikos Catalog.

I haven't been on this forum in a long time. Can't belive some of those old posts are still here.

Most of my shrub fruits worked out very well and my garden is just always full of birds. Right now the Goumi are loaded with berries and so are the serviceberries, which are just starting to get ripe. I see Catbirds, Mockingbirds, Bluejays, Robins, Orioles and Grackles eating on them every day.

The Blackberries, all thornless erect types have turned out to be a really big success. I have Apache, Arapaho and Ouichita. All make large berries and if I have patience to pick when ripe, the fruit is so sweet. Of course the birds and squirrels get their fair share but I don't care as there is plenty for everyone.

Another big sucess is the Goumi, also called Cherry Elaeagnus (elaeagnus multiflora). The birds just love them and they come early, before the blueberries here.

Dismal flops are two Honeyberry shrubs I had here for years and finially yanked out this summer. The fruit is too aweful for people to eat and there is not much of it. The shrubs were just ugly. The catbirds did eat the berries though.

Also the black raspberries I tried out are long gone. I couldn't stand the taste of the fruit and no birds ate it either. The darn things set fruit so heavily I just couldn't believe it but it rotted on the shrubs as no birds or aything ever ate it. A real shame as I would have left some if the animals ate the fruit. I just couldn't stand it and I do like red raspberries. Oh well. Can't be right all the time. Don't get why the birds didn't want them.

The serviceberries are doing great and the birds love them. Also, I keep adding Blueberries and the birds love those too (so do I).

I am still having problems with my Nanking Cherries. Not once have I ever gotten fruit. Last Spring I yanked out three of the non blooming red Nankings and also yanked out the two Black Nanking Cherries bought from St Lawrence Nursery. This left me with my original Red Nanking (from St Lawrence) which blooms heavily and a small nanking from Raintree. Then I planted three more small red nankings from raintree. I am hoping some of them will bloom together (my old ones did not) so that I can get fruit.

The dwarf ground cherries I also planted from St Lawrence have grown into really nice shrubs that friut heavily but the fruits are so sour. They do look good though.

I do have some dwarf sour cherry trees so there are real cherries here to eat. Now I am trying to remember when I planted the cherry trees but its been awhile.

My Edible Landscaping catalog has been requested. Hopefully the shipping won't be so high since I'm just over the border. I really should have come to this forum sooner. Tore out 3 huge red currant shrubs, all my Heritage red raspberries and cut down some huge pokeberries.

My birds fuss everytime I try to pick sour cherries. Whoever claimed birds didn't like sour cherries or yellow sweet ones was totally wrong. I live mostly wooded and have concentrated on azaleas, and an assortment of natives but I think I will now concentrate on berries for the birds. Thanks!!