Lessons From the Garden #109: “Blueberry Legacy”
~ Lytingale – Sept, 2010

My gardening prowess is legendary. What I mean is it’s largely a legend, meaning it’s “fiction”!

Oh, the excitement of early spring gives me a burst of enthusiasm and energy that translates into actual physical work. And I have been known to harbor some overly ambitious plans for what I’d like to see out there. But when the hot sun and the mosquitoes come out, I’m much more interested in a good book and comfy chair.

My main interest is in the harvest. I like eating sun-warmed tomatoes more than planting or weeding them. I’d prefer a whole lot of reaping without much sowing. (Unfortunately, prosperity in all areas of life doesn’t seem to work that way… but that’s another article.) This brings me to my favorite fruit: blueberries….

We were blessed to have 10 full-grown blueberry bushes on our lot when we moved to this house. For 2 months of the last 22 summers, I have had all the blueberries we could eat, with almost no work! Thus I sing the praises of blueberries, the lazy gardener’s fruit!

OK, so I have to spend time picking them, but that’s a peaceful way to spend time and it always recharges my batteries.

Blueberries are full of antioxidants to keep you healthy… in fact, their health value is downright amazing.

Blueberry bushes have a few preferences (Don’t we all?): they like the soil to be acidic (put them near pine or hemlock trees, or mulch with pine straw). Most varieties need cross-pollination (a different variety nearby) in order to set fruit. (We all need friends nearby.) A location with a little protection will prevent losing your crop to a late spring frost . They get pretty big, so allow enough space between them… and plant enough so you can share with friends and the birds.

Maintenance is easy: every few years, you should prune the tops to keep them low enough to pick without being 7 feet tall. Chop down the few weeds that grow under them. And that’s about it… Yes!

Once you pick them, you just wash them (pick out the twigs, stems, and stray bugs), then let them dry a bit (I gently use a salad spinner). Blueberries keep in the refrigerator for weeks in a colander (they like a little air) or put them in a ziplock bag and into the freezer. Next winter you can make muffins or pies, or throw a frozen handful into your hot oatmeal.

What a fruit! What’s not to love about it?

I want to encourage you to plant a few blueberry bushes wherever you live… even if you plan to move.

We’ve all heard the tale of Johnny Appleseed who spent his life planting apple trees all across the country. Whether fully fact or partly fiction, his story is one of leaving a sweet legacy for future generations.

When the people who lived here before us planted those blueberry bushes, they gave us a lifetime of fruit. First they reaped the benefits of their labors, and then passed them on, not knowing who would receive that gift. They enriched my life, and I am grateful.

When I was growing up, there was a great big lilac bush right next to our back door, right next to the sandbox where I spent many happy hours. Its lovely flowers and sweet perfume lingered in my memory. As a young adult, I planted a lot of lilac bushes at houses where I didn’t live long enough to ever see their blooms. No regrets… because I know that eventually somebody got to smell their sweet fragrance. And when I settled here, my lilac karma came due… there were 8 full-grown lilac bushes… and the unknown boon of blueberry bushes.

The gardeners who have gone before us have enriched our lives in ways they probably never dreamed. Their legacy of natural beauty inspires, nurtures, and feeds both body and spirit. At the church, I think of Penny & Denis Smiley and all the landscaping they did that is maturing so beautifully and enjoyed by so many people. When I walk down a shady city street, I give thanks to the unknown person who convinced some city council to plant or preserve trees. And I wonder, will anyone enjoy the fruits of my labors in years to come? Whatever you plant in your garden of life is helping to create the future for someone else.

My mom loved to pick blueberries in our backyard. Free, fresh fruit! When she picked the summer when she was 87, I wonder if she sensed that would be the last time she would ever pick berries. We never really know what the future will bring to us, so we need to enjoy the gifts of today.

When Mom passed away last fall, two friends gave me a Top Hat blueberry bush instead of flowers in her memory. How fitting! I don’t think they knew I had a backyard full of bushes. I wondered what to do with it. Plant it with the others? Plant it at the church? Nothing felt quite right. So I let my mind rest around the question for a while, and I researched and found that it was self-pollinating and often container-grown. I had my answer: plant it in a pot.

We all grow older, and someday this house will be too big to rattle around in, too expensive or difficult to maintain, and it will be time to down-size. And one of the hardest things for me to leave will be my blueberries! So now I have a blueberry bush in a giant pot that I will be able to take with me. And every time I walk out my front door, I see it and think of my friends’ thoughtful gift and of my mom. It is a living legacy.

Life goes by so fast. Most of us wish for a bit of immortality, something to say “I was here on earth and I made a difference.” But we make our mark by what we love and take care of…. with our time, our effort, and our money.

An old gospel song tells us to “Brighten the corner where you are.” In other words, be a light and leave things better than when you got here. So raise a child, volunteer at a charity, give when you are asked, take care of what you love (your family, your church, your community)… and plant a blueberry bush. Someone will thank you for it.

–Lytingale
© 2010 Lois J. Henrickson (Lytingale)

“I am always amazed at how much more toothpaste I can squeeze out of the last bit from the tube. How powerful it would be to live every moment of life with the same zest!”
~ Alan Cohen