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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2013 18:30:11 GMT
Casimira, we have so many wild elderberries on our property, this spring we made elderberry "champagne". You should give it a try sometime, it's made with the blossoms. What colour are your elderberries?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2013 18:52:54 GMT
VOILA!!!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2013 19:13:43 GMT
Beautiful. Delicious. What will you make?
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Post by htmb on Aug 24, 2013 1:52:38 GMT
My father in-law made elderberry wine many years ago and is was disappointingly bland. I have always wondered how he could have improved on the outcome.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2013 7:12:15 GMT
I had no idea what an elderberry looked like.
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Post by htmb on Aug 24, 2013 10:56:21 GMT
You probably saw a lot of elderberry growing around you in Mississippi, but just didn't realize it. It grows wild here.
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Post by patricklondon on Aug 24, 2013 15:28:40 GMT
Elderflowers in the UK are collected to make a cordial or syrup, which is often paired with gooseberries in cooking, or with lemonade as a drink. Interesting that they grow in hot climates, I'd always assumed they were native to colder northern climates; but I suppose they're tough and invasive enough to flourish across a wide range.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2013 15:31:51 GMT
I'm not really sure what I'm going to make with them yet. I'm perusing recipes. Likely a jam of sorts. Last year I made some fritters with some of the blossoms and they were yummy.
They do grow wild here. Actually to a degree of almost invasiveness. I do allow 2 or 3 of them to grow in some spaces where I have room for them. I do have to pull up quite a few volunteers of them throughout the year. The birds love them. I can't imagine you didn't see them growing up in Mississippi K2.
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Post by htmb on Aug 24, 2013 15:32:22 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2013 15:41:33 GMT
The one that grows here is Sambucus canadensis. They look identical to the one you posted HTMB. I know the ones that grow in Europe are different as I remember some discussion of it on another forum.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2013 16:04:02 GMT
We have red elderberries here; the berries are rumoured to be inedible, but the flowers made that lovely elderflower fizz this year. The leaves are the main browse of the many deer we have.
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Post by bjd on Aug 24, 2013 16:14:12 GMT
Long ago, we made jam with a mixture of blackberries and elderberries. The elderberries alone are not that great. They grow here too, as well as in northern France -- the black ones, I don't know about the red ones.
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Post by lugg on Sept 9, 2013 6:06:54 GMT
The hedgerows are full of bounty here now- a foragers delight, I picked lots of damsons, as I am going to make Damson Gin for Christmas tonight. Sloes Crab apples Damsons Elderberries and blackberries Wildflowers blooming now Comfrey Cyclamen
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 16, 2013 7:26:48 GMT
What bounty ~~ an autumnal garden of Eden!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2013 16:48:50 GMT
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Post by htmb on Sept 17, 2013 17:43:15 GMT
I love the vibrant orange and yellow. Are those tomatoes in the last picture, or am I hallucinating?
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Post by fumobici on Sept 17, 2013 18:21:05 GMT
Nightshade perhaps? Did you eat any?
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Post by htmb on Sept 17, 2013 18:25:18 GMT
Not any kind of night shade I've ever seen, but with my lack of plant knowledge, I'd never trust myself to forage on my own. ;D
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2013 18:32:51 GMT
Solanum dulcamara. Bittersweet, a kind of nightshade. Invasive weed. Mildly poisonous.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2013 18:33:20 GMT
I have no idea what they were, but they were tiny. What I found the most surprising was that those little purple flowers later became these things.
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Post by htmb on Sept 17, 2013 18:37:42 GMT
Thanks. The next time I see what I think is nightshade growing here I'll post a picture. What we have looks more like elderberry to me, but as stated, I know nothing about wild berries, plants, etc, except for the typically edible fruit such as blackberries.
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Post by htmb on Sept 17, 2013 18:39:19 GMT
Oh, I see now. I didn't realize the last two pictures were of the same plant, or that the fruit was so small.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2013 16:56:38 GMT
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Post by tod2 on Sept 22, 2013 13:04:01 GMT
I recognise your plant with the black seed heads and bright red stems. I'ts called Pokeweed. Here is a pic of the one in my garden.
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Post by htmb on Oct 6, 2013 0:27:51 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2013 1:19:19 GMT
Apparently, you have a kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa). Lot of them in this part of the world.
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Post by htmb on Oct 6, 2013 1:57:49 GMT
Thank you, Lizzie! I don't recall seeing this variety of Dogwood before. It's growing in Virginia, just outside Washington, DC.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2013 3:04:15 GMT
Apparently edible, persimmon-like, but I wouldn't recommend it!
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Post by tod2 on Jan 11, 2014 13:49:44 GMT
As the days will soon grow shorter, and we will be relieved of this stifling humid heat, I noticed my palm had produced a really huge bunch of dates. Dates, not as the Arab world knows them but a fibrous yellow pip which I think only the Vervet monkey's might tackle.
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Post by htmb on Jul 19, 2014 23:54:25 GMT
I'm not sure the official name for these little beauties but we have always called them "wild hog plums." These are growing on the edge of Paynes Prairie and the fruit is pretty much past its peak, but when I used to cook I would make a few batches of jelly each year. The jelly can range in color from bright red to deep purple, and it has a tart taste. I don't particularly care for most jelly, but actually liked hog plum very much. It also made for a nice gift when visiting friends.
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