Cranberry bush

Front Garden, 3 June 2013
Front Garden, 3 June 2013

Yesterday I was going to try for a hattrick and post a third garden post in three days, but gardening is hard work. I used to think gardening was a sport reserved for old people. Not any more.

I dug up the bed in the front yard, as the flowers we had there were invasive and kept growing through the fence into the neighbour’s yard. It turned out to be far more work than I’d anticipated. Four hours in I had to call it quits as I had class, and I don’t think I could have dug another root out of the ground without falling over. My partner took over when he returned home from work.

Cranberry Bush, 4 June 2013
Cranberry Bush, 4 June 2013

Today I did the last of it, and finally planted the cranberry bush. It’s a Wentworth (viburnum trilobum), a type of large North American cranberry bush. It looks small now, but it’s going to get quite big (2.4 x 3 m). Fortunately, it’s slow growing – which should be easier to manage. The best part: edible fruit.

The photo above shows about half of the front side bed.  On the far left are haphazardly replanted peonies and reburied tulip bulbs. The rocks add visual stimulation until the bush grows in more fully, and will serve as stepping stones for weeding. Out of frame on the right are a large evergrreen bush, and a three or four year old maple.

I doubt we’ll be able to get much fruit from the bush this year, but next year I’m looking forward to canning home grown cranberries. Omnomnom.

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