Some years ago I watched this youtube series, where a guy tours the states and visits different organic farms and permaculture orchards and things and interviews the owners.
If you know the channel, please link, because I can't seem to find it. ('Great Amrican Permculture Tour' or something)
Anyways, One video really gave me an epiphany.
This one guy had a lush orchard in California with all sorts of citrus plants, olives and other warm climate species, I'd love to cultivate. I was so jealous. He had it all.
At the end of the tour, he went to his most priced possesion, his favourite tree:
Elderberry
It was just a shrub, it had multiple layers of bird nettings over it, he spend a lot of time caring for that bush and it still looked miserable.
This is just a random elderberry, randomly growing in my garden:
I don't have to do anything. They grow like weeds everywhere.
My grandmother almost hated them and always made me cut them.
Now, I manage the garden. I just let some of these bushes be.
I recently learned that Germanic tribes considered elderberry as a holy plant and a connection to 'Frau Holle', who lives underground... whatever... I don't really believe these things - I still found it cool.
The lesson
Instead of growing things that take a lot of effort and that don't really belong in this climate, or are hard to cultivate, I'll just go with what comes easy.
These elderberrys could probably catch a premium price in California. Here they just grow. They are the easiest thing to 'cultivate' (I really don't have to do a thing).
I consume the flowers as tea; 'Holunderblütentee' (drinking one right now).
We make jelly from the flowers, but also from the berrys later in season.
Someone's trash is someone elses treasure. (or something along those lines)
The grass is always greener on the other side.
...and other sayings come to mind.
Just be grateful for what you have and make the most out of the things you got, instead of trying to grow citrus-fruits in Northern Germany.
Since I adopted this mindset, I have a much better time gardening.
I just stick to what grows easy and now I get good harvests.
Sure, some local people think I am a bit stupid for growing elderberry, but I think they are stupid for growing miserable olives and other exotic things over here.
I spend my time finding recipes and uses for the plants I got, rather than immitating other cultures, which grew around different plants.
This can include plants that 'don't belong here'.
If it grows easily and I can find a use for it, I'll adopt it.
I choose the easy route.
...btw...does anyone need 3 buckets of thyme? 😅
Well, good that you do what satisfies you. But the thing that you consume flowers like tea confuses me, what about sunflowers?
I sometimes grow sunflowers as decoration, but you can not make tea from it :)
As for elderberry-flower-tea: it's very popular. it's sweet and a little bit tangy.
Good to hear ☺️
))
I will also need to make a list of the most profitable crops for my garden.
Greetings @felixxx ,
Thank you!
Enjoyed your post..smiling all through it.
Perhaps it is the challenge we humans enjoy when it comes to gardening, who knows...when instead if we discovered what prospered in our area we could easily have success as you are saying here...so true.
Lovely to have an Elderberry tree/bush in your own garden...In England, the Elderberry likes to send out root runners and they grow into trees as well ...was the reason the gardeners never liked them.
The aroma of the tree in bloom is memorable...happy to hear you have one.
Cheers!