Berries are one of the reliable producers in any garden, and people often overlook just how many kinds of berries there are. Since berries bloom at various times all summer, the more kinds of berries you have, the longer your harvest will be. Even within each type of berry, there are early-, mid-, and late-blooming varieties, as well as different flavors, colors and textures.
Early summer
Strawberries are an iconic summer fruit, and come in two types: June-bearing and everbearing. June-bearing cultivars tend to be smaller and sweeter with less staying power, while everbearing fruit will be bigger and will fruit through July, if not later. It’s important to have both types for a full summer of fruit. These plants never reach more than 12 inches off the ground, and grow by throwing runners that will quickly spawn new strawberry plants.
This is my second year with honeyberry shrubs and they’ve proven to be hardy and easy to grow. These upright shrubs bear oblong bright blue fruit early in the season that could be compared to blueberries.
The most popular cane-bearing berry there is, raspberries generally grow on six foot tall, upright, second-year canes. What people often don’t know is how many varieties of raspberries there are, from golden raspberries that bear fruit in fall to black cap raspberries, known for their sweetness. Raspberries spread very easily, so they require a trellis and to be kept in check, but they’re a solid investment.
Usually found near streams, salmonberry bears small raspberry-looking fruit on a sturdy shrub that can grow to 12 feet. The small fruit turns a pleasing pink when ready to be picked, and is quite subtle and sweet, tasting a little like rhubarb.
Another hardy shrub, goji berry forms oblong, bright red sprays of fruit. Known to be packed with nutrients, the fruit themselves are sour and a bit bitter, like a cranberry.
Mid-summer
Not only do blueberry shrubs offer fruit, they also make fantastic garden filler as a plant. More drought-resistant than people think, blueberries prefer less water than other berries. They thrive in both full sun and partial shade, and there are even evergreen varieties. But what I like most about blueberries is the wide variety of them available. They vary in height, size of the blueberry, and when they become ripe in the season—and there are types like Pink Lemonade that aren’t even blue. Consider a hedge of blueberries to fill out the garden.
If you imagine a cross between a shrub and an upright vine, you get currants. These shrubs tend to splay out with their long arms, each bearing sprays of currants in clear, red, pink, or black. These small spheres become surprisingly sweet with more complex flavor than other berries and the shrubs are fast growers.
A cane fruit similar to raspberries but sweeter, tayberries have a similar shape to blackberries but are longer and narrower. Since they grow like raspberries (cane) they can also spread easily and require a trellis.
In nature, huckleberries grow on mountains with dappled light and just the right humidity. But you can actually purchase huckleberry for your yard and try to make a go of it. In particular, the evergreen huckleberry is a great yard shrub. People prize the small, dark spherical huckleberries for the fruit, which is slightly tart but very sweet and makes a memorable pie filling.
I have trouble sometimes telling my gooseberry and currant shrubs apart, but it’s obvious once the fruit appears. Gooseberry grows larger globes that resemble grapes until they ripen into dark maroon spheres hanging from the shrub like ornaments. They tend to be a little more sour than other fruit, sweetening the riper they get.
Late summer
A few years ago I ripped out a few rows of raspberries to replace them with blackberries and boysenberries and it was one of the best moves I ever made. Blackberries spread easily as a cane, but mature later in the summer than raspberries, creating tons of dark, black conical fruit that is incredibly sweet. The boysenberry cultivar is even sweeter, making it the perfect jam fruit.
Elderberries are often overlooked in the garden. Though a shrub, they really resemble trees and are incredibly aggressive growers. Best grown in pairs, they form large puffs of elderflowers early in the season which can be harvested on their own. The flowers that remain form bunches of dark red spheres late in the season. Elderberries have a slight sourness to them, but are full of vitamins and are used in a lot of cordials and syrups. These plants make a fantastic deer-resistant hedge, but must be maintained to not grow out of control.
Mulberry trees are a commitment. They grow prolifically, forming long ruby berries. If not controlled, mulberry trees become quite large and will drop a lot of fruit onto the ground. That said, mulberries are, themselves, wonderful to have. They are a more complex tasting fruit than raspberries, with sweetness but an underlying slight bitterness.
Cranberries grow on low-to-the-ground shrubs that spread horizontally and require a lot of moisture. Though traditionally grown close together in bogs, you can purchase these plants and put them anywhere, as long as they get enough water. Cranberries themselves are known for the unique aspect that they are hollow and will float. While quite bitter, cranberries are famous for their perch on the holiday table in jams and dressings where they are mellowed out by sugar or honey.
Thimbleberries and salmonberries have a lot in common. This bramble berry grows on shrub-like plants, and forms small raspberry-looking fruit in clusters. Thimbleberries are quite sweet and make a really nice plant to have for foraging in your yard.