We grow a lot of berries, but one of our favorites that we grow is elderberries. Elderberries are really good for you and great for your immune system. They aren’t very sweet, so Mom puts them in smoothies and they taste really good in pancakes. (Especially if you pick out all the stems!)

We like to keep tabs on our bushes, so we can pick them before they get over-ripe on us. So earlier this summer I went out to check on them regularly. This was what I saw:

The buds before they are ready to bloom:

The buds then turn white, as the petals start to come out:

And then, you have a bunch where a few are starting to bloom, but most of them have not:

The bunch gets whiter and whiter as the buds blossom:

The bees start to come and pollinate your bushes:

Look at the huge bunches that this bush produces! One of the things that we wish that we had done better with this property is write down what variety we planted where.

So, we dont know which variety to order when we get more elderberries. We want this kind, because this bush is huge and gives us TONS of berries!

See how big it is compared to the bush next to it? And see how many blossoms you can already see? (The bush next to the fence).

Fortunately, it produces lots of shoots each year, so we’ll be able to dig them up to take with us.  Gotta have lots of elderberries!

Look – the berries are almost ready to pick:

Finally ready:

We just cut the whole cluster off, bring them into the house, and pull off the berries inside.  What we don’t eat fresh, we freeze whole.

We love elderberries!

PJ adds: Elderberries are very hardy plants that are easy to grow and a great bush to add to your landscaping.