Berries - Gardening - Nature

Lacy Loveliness of the Elderberry Bush

Strawberries, blueberries and raspberries are familiar. We see them in the grocery store. God has created a multitude of other berries. I feel blessed to have elderberry bushes in my backyard. After reading about the benefits of elderberries I ordered bushes from nursery catalogues. Now I have four bushes and enjoy the different phases as these bushes produce fruit.

In June white lace flowers appear on the branches.

Elderberry flower

In July the berries begin to form.

Elderberries developing

The berry clusters ripen at a staggered pace.  This bush has berries in     different shades of ripeness.

Elderberry Bush

When fully ripe the berries are a deep purple color—almost black.

Elderberries

When the berries are used for jelly or juice, all of the little stems must be removed first.

Harvested Elderberries
Harvested Elderberries

I pick the berries, remove the stems and freeze them until I have enough quantity to make a juice/syrup for the winter.   My recipe for canning       elderberry juice is here.

Linking with A Little R & RHealthy, Happy, Green & NaturalTuesdays with a TwistSue’s Wordless Wednesday, Nature Notes and Seasons

Carol is a follower of Jesus and a wife, mom & grandma. She worked for many years as a childbirth nurse and prenatal educator. She recently retired from clinical work. She has written articles for nursing journals and devotionals. Her novel, Aliisa's Letter, was published in 2010 and she is currently working on another project.

10 Comments on “Lacy Loveliness of the Elderberry Bush

  1. With so many amazing uses and benefits, it’s so wonderful to have elderberry bushes right in your yard. Thank you for sharing Lacy Loveliness of the Elderberry Bush at the Healthy, Happy, Green and Natural Party Blog Hop. I’m Pinning and sharing!

  2. This made me remember that is is a bush I want to research about adding to my garden. I remember the jelly my grandmother used to make from these and other berries… Michelle

  3. Hello, I think I have seen these growing wild in my area. I will have to go back and check the woods. Lovely images of the berries. Happy Tuesday, enjoy your day!

  4. The lacy flowers are so beautiful! thank you for sharing your recipe for juice and canning with SEASONS have a great and productive (aka delicious) week:)

    1. Elderberries are best when made into juice or jelly. From my book on wild berries: “Elderberries have a somewhat musty flavor when sampled raw… don’t taste more than one or two raw though; many people get an upset stomach from raw elderberries.” The little stems and the stones of the elderberry cause the upset. But the ingredients in the berry itself are a health benefit in fighting off the flu according to research done in Israel. I can the elderberry juice for my grandchildren–when you add raw honey to the juice it helps to fight colds & flu.

Comments are closed.