From Mrs. Cog

Sustainablilty!

When we bought our home on the mountain, we knew there was a great deal of work involved  to repair and maintain the property. The somewhat elderly owner had moved out several years before and among other things, the vegetation had become quite overgrown (think rainforest.) As an added challenge, we toured and bought the place in the dead of winter. With the greenery dormant, we had no idea what most plants and trees were.

After we relocated, I was astounded almost daily to see what we actually have. When Cog was hacking back weeds and even some (gasp!) wild blackberries plants around the enormous overgrown kiwi patch, we found a different berry plant. HALT! I picked some and brought them inside and googled blueberries. I had trouble believing that is what they were. The berries were right, but blueberries grow on bushes and this was a tree. Indeed - they are blueberries... just starting to ripen.

I find I have focused so long on how to garden and put away seeds for next year and extra fresh food that I missed the obvious. Growing in our yard and renewing themselves each year are such a variety of fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers - perennials are a gift. In addition to the many fruits already growing here, I have also discovered grapes, echinacea, yarrow, chamomile... and this is just what I have been able to identify so far. I can only imagine what else is in store.