Berry Barrel garden

 I don’t have a lot of space in the Los Angeles Garden- so my friends are shocked when I tell them all the different herbs, fruits and plants I grow. But-  it’s really just strategically placed containers and my greenstalk garden towers.  

My goal this year is not only to have an edible garden but an edible native ca/Baja ca garden- and one thing that thrives in California is strawberries. I dedicated a whole greenstalk to strawberries (my parents pulled out the front lawn strawberries I had planted them in 2010.  My dad’s biggest complaint was - he didn’t like the strawberries coming from the dirt.  So I figured if he doesn’t see the dirt and only delicious strawberries hanging out the pockets of my green stalk, he’ll enjoy them. (Only time will tell).

But my kids like all kinds of berries, so I found out blueberries, blackberries, boysenberry, huckleberries, and currants are also native to California.  These are more bushes and would need more space than a pocket can give. I decided to plant some in a half cut wine barrel and in a giant pot that I place under a lemon tree.  The way the sun hits, the berries get plenty of morning and noon sun, enough to thrive.  I got a bushel and berry blueberry plant that should stay small. Currants and huckleberry can be pruned down.

I’ve never heard of huckleberry- so when I found out is was a Ca native- I grabbed it. I’m excited to see what the fruit looks like and taste. Just above it is a blue crop blueberry I bought at Aldi- I had bought 2- then found out I needed a different variety so that it can better produce.  I gave one away and searched up a small container variety through bushel and berry and got a peach sorbet.  While there are blueberries native to CA, I doubt these two are (I recently found out blue crop isn’t even zoned for Ca- so who knows how that will go. And peach sorbet seems to be bred to be small, so I don’t think that’s natural- but I need small varieties since I have so much growing in one container.  I added worms and need to feed them, so I decided to double pot my boysenberry- it will have room to grow and I can easily lift it to feed my worms.  I’m excited to grow boysenberry since it’s a huge hit at Knotts berry farm. I’m such a fan, I even have the knotts cookbook.  Behind it is my chaparral currant- it’s a native berry that I’m also excited to try.  I think growing fruits we are familiar and new native varieties will help my family to taste new fruits.

My berries needed a plant ground cover- (I’m strawberried out) and mint grows the fastest and would be a perfect companion to berries.  I found San Miguel Savory or also known as San Diego Yerba Buena- a rare and slightly at risk mint that grows from Santa Ana to Baja Ca in the chaparral area. I bought it at artemisia garden nursery. I planted it towards the front and when I brush against it- the smell is so refreshing. The small white tubular flowers are beautiful and would make a great garnish in a fruit salad, smoothie, or mocktail drink. Let me know what you know about San Miguel Savory (clinopodium chandleri) and how you would use it in recipes?