clew9h ago

What could I put in a #PNW hedge to replace Himalayan blackberries from the point of view of little birds? I’ll plant sunflowers and scarlet runners for a while, and am aiming for huckleberry and native honeysuckle in the longer term. Left the dead canes in the hedge high up for a few more years of physical protection.

“Berry birds like that isn’t invasive” might be impossible, hm.

ETA constraints: safe for humans to walk past, long term maintenance is one winter prune and mow around

#garden

Show threadDeb Chachra8h ago
@clew This is my first year in Vancouver BC, in a flat with outdoor space for the first time in decades, so I’m not even a rookie PNW gardener! But if I knew I was going to be here for a while, I’d be planting blackcurrants because I love them and they are underappreciated in North America. They might work for you? https://plants.gardenworks.ca/11190002/Plant/10605/Black_Currant/
Black Currant (Ribes nigrum) at GardenWorks

GardenWorks Plant Database

Show threadclew8h ago

I looooove blackcurrants

They share a rust with local evergreens and some horrible maggots with the native currants, so while they grow really well they come to terrible ends IME

I wish everyone better luck because I want to eat blackcurrant everything

@debcha

Show threadDeb Chachra8h ago
@clew Do you think they might be happy in a container? Worth trying? (I don’t have a yard, just a patio and a patch of dirt by a chainlink fence — looking to put some indeterminate tomatoes and beans into the ground and grow a few more things in containers.)
Show threadclew

in general I think reservoir-watering containers are brilliant for our climate. Add screening of the reservoirs for mosquito prevention, is my only take.

Lots of commercial versions and I stuff two-5gal-bucket versions in the back - cheap and effective but I can’t make them attractive.

@debcha

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