My Very Berry Blog

This is a VERY berry blog! Just lovely! I really love this time of year, and am enjoying quite a few berries here as well. Even lily-of-the-valley has lovely orange ones. Your pictures with the birds are really beautiful.

Brilliant photos Paul. And lovely berries.I really like Yew berries...I think they are fascinating.and, a handsome Mocking Bird, too!

Thank you. I had no idea Lily of the Valley had berries. I need to run out and check. I really enjoy all the different color berries out there - quite an amazing show.

The mocking bird is quite a character. He hangs around all year mostly eating the juniper berries. He won't let any other birds touch the juniper trees. Hey pays me with sweet music.

He's very handsome, isn't he? I just popped out to photograph the lily-of-the-valley, but all that is left of them are dried brown leaves! The berries don't last long, sadly. I did find a wretched lily beetle on one of then, though. Not much left for him (or her). I was overrun with them this year. I am seriously considering ditching my lilies (they're all in pots) for a year or two to try to break the cycle.

Beautiful photos Bathgate! I noticed a yew in town yesterday had a grand lot of berries - must be a good year for them. Thank you for the pic of the mocking bird, I haven't seen one before. Our lilies of the valley rarely have berries - not a sign this year.

I use Lily of the Valley as a ground cover in my shade garden. They pair up nicely with hostas.

You are welcome Margaret. The Yews are quite striking, especially when it snows. I just heard a report over the radio - "Farmers' Almanac is predicting this winter will be as bad, or worse than last year."

I'm glad to share a pic of the mocking bird. I hope you get to hear one as well. They are extremely intelligent and talented song birds. (You can hear one on YouTube).

Beautiful pictures had some tomatoes like yours looks like they have greenback wasn't sure weather to use them but they seem to have ripened and been ok hope yours are the same.

Thanks, I hope so too. I started looking at ways to eat green tomatoes, but I prefer them red.

such a lot of berries...love the juniper berries..think i need a juniper now! picked the last of my tomatoes today. All the green ones are on trays in the dark now. Most of them usually ripen.

I love to see the berries and even more, seeing the birds enjoying them.

Hi Sandra. I didn't know toms would ripen in the dark, I usually put my green ones in the kitchen window, please tell. ?

You captured great shots of the mocking bird, Paul, it is indeed a handsome chap.
Lovely plethora of berries too, all looking very festive.

Dawn, darkness, warmth, and ethylene gas are all a tomato needs to ripen.
Here's a link all about it: http://www.agardenforthehouse.com/2012/08/how-i-ripen-tomatoes-indoors/

They don't even need darkness- they do OK just spread out somewhere with a ripe one or two or some banana with them to provide the gas.

That's really kind of you green finger, I will take a look.
Thanks Stera, I think I will get the green toms off this week.

I better get some bananas!

Thanks for the tip for ripening my green tomatoes. We had a freeze last night and the vines started drooping and turning black. I will try all the above to get them to ripen. These are the last of the bunch :(.

Sandra, they are great trees to have. They freshen the air and keep the songbirds coming around.

Stera, you're right but if you use the method in the link the bag concentrates the gas & the dark stops them going leathery which can happen with the sunny windowsill method.

Lovely pictures of your berries Paul. Love the Mocking bird picture. Bananas do work helping to ripen tomatoes.

Thanks Linda. Should I put the toms and bananas into a brown paper bag or just place the toms in the fruit bowl? I have so many green ones.

I would put them together in the fruit bowl, but you could try both ways and see which one is best.

Yes green fingers, in the past when I've ripened them on the windowsill they do go leathery, mine will be in bags with a banana, lol. Thank you

A berry berry very interesting blog, some great photos there....

thanks! :)

I spread mine out on an old sheet on the spare bed and they ripened off a few at a time. I always left at least one ripe one to get the rest started, not having an endless supply of bananas...

Will it work ONLY with bananas? What about oranges?

Love the bird eating the berry. I must get a new camera. Mine is doing a blue cast over the photos. But you must have some fancy kind. The shots were terrific. Particularly liked the Viburnum and Pyracantha. I do like the end just for this reason and Vermont has never had a more beautiful fall. If I can get it together will do a blog with some of the foliage. It was wonderful color and the trees were extremely full everywhere. I liked this blog, and as usual the photography is perfect.

Paul, I would think oranges won't work as well as bananas as they have to be damaged & going mouldy b4 they produce ethylene gases.
You could use an apple but don't put an apple & banana together as that will make the apple soft & the banana will blacken thus hastening rapid decay.
The banana is favoured as it is a high ethylene producer.

Many a time my children would return home with a black banana in their lunchbox.

Some fruit & veg are ethylene producers others are ethylene sensitive & the reason why they should be stored differently to maintain optimum freshness

No I wouldn't use oranges, but ripe tomatoes work as well as bananas.

Thanks for the information. I really appreciate. Yesterday I harvested over 10 pounds of green tomatoes (Rutgers, baseball sized) all from one plant. Would love to see them all turn red. I've nurtured it from seed and this is the final harvest. I have them sitting on the kitchen counter with a banana. Time will tell.

Hi Wells, thanks you for the compliment. I'm glad you enjoyed my blog. For me, it's trial & error. Sometimes for every pic I take - there's 4 or 5 throwaways and I'm grateful for Adobe PhotoShop too. You can do all kinds of really cool stuff with that program.

My camera isn't anything fancy. It's only a Canon PowerShot 4500 I picked up at PC Richards & Sons for about $100.00. It's an OK basic camera but not too great at night time photos. I don't understand why every picture I take of the Moon comes out blurry, same for the Empire State Building. Any other building, bridge or whatever comes out fine, but only pics of the Empire State Building come out blurry. LOL! Vermont must be spectacular this time of year with all the foliage. Last year I was to Stowe, Vermont and took some trails on horseback to see the foliage. That's really the best way to see the foliage - on horseback. My horse seemed to enjoy taking me around. I always try to establish a rapport with every horse I ride. Talk to him/her, stroke him, feed him an apple BEFORE mounting him/her. He will take care of you and be very responsive.

A lovely blog Paul you are right Berries do deserve a special mention of their own , the Mockingbird reminded me of Jay its beautiful , , you have enough Juniper berries to keep a Gin factory working for months or make your own Lol

LOL thanks Amy. Sometimes I think I could use a good gin & tonic.