We never had much luck growing regular blueberries; however, a few years ago we planted a couple of pink lemonade blueberry bushes, and they've done pretty well. The fruit is ripe when it turns a deep pink color, and they're sweeter than the standard blueberries.
Had to drape some mesh over them to protect them from the mockingbirds.
I have maintained a systematic schedule for spraying deer and rabbit repellant this year, so my gladioli actually managed to bloom this spring.
So, not only do the mockingbirds eat the pink lemonade blueberries, I bet they then leave pink birdsh!t all over your place. I have them around my place, but they don't have pink berries to eat so it's just the usual color birdsh!t.
ReplyDeleteThey haven't managed to get many of the pink blueberries, so I'm not sure about the color of their droppings. I'm just glad we don't have to hang our sheets out to dry like my grandma did; every now and then, some bird would leave a streak of (usually) purple poop on one.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! You certainly have a green thumb, Paco,
ReplyDeleteHad to drape some mesh over them to protect them from the mockingbirds.
No ack ack guns?
One would think that any berry with lemonade in the name would be tart. Nice to know they're sweeter. What do you make it yours?
ReplyDeleteThose gladiolus are gorgeous!
Jeff: Nah, no ack ack guns. The neighbors are so prissy about that sort of thing. "The noise scares my dog!" "You might put a hole through my siding!" People just don't have a sense of adventure anymore.
ReplyDeleteDeborah: We just eat them right off the bush (after washing them, of course).
Yes, the glads really have some spectacular colors.
Alas, Paco, people just don't want to have fun anymore ....
ReplyDelete"Alas, Paco, people just don't want *us* to have fun anymore ...."
ReplyDeleteFIFY
Mesh? Hahaha, oh birds just stick their cute little beaks right through that. We used to have an apple tree and every year hoped that this time we'd get ripe fruit.
ReplyDeleteFinally the tree got some disease. Just finished burning bits of it to keep warm this winter downunder.
Poor tree. Hope you used the applewood to cure some tasty meat, and make something beautiful such as a box, basket, or lamp.
DeleteThe mesh was sufficiently fine to make the birds wary of getting their feet caught, so they rarely bothered.
ReplyDeleteFIFY
ReplyDeleteThank you!
:D :D :D
It was rotten with huge cankers, Deborah. I gave up on it years ago, even let vines grow over it, covering it up so we'd forgotten it was there until I cut the vines back. We've been in this place 25 yrs now.
ReplyDeleteI tried mesh on that tree 15 years ago then gave up, and everyone here has tried mesh at some stage. We have a big variety of birds, and it's taken me years to figure out what most of them are. I don't think mesh stops cockatoos - they can strip a tree in minutes. And they only eat the seeds and spit out the fruit!
Lots of bower-birds around here which I think eat most of the fruit.