Nature's gift

In Canada they are called blackberries. In Britain maybe brambles. In Sweden, the general name i bear berries, although several other names are known. It is not a single species but rather a group of similar variants of the raspberry genus. On Saltspring, they grow like weed, and you have to fight them in your garden or see it overgrown by them. Beware the thorny prickles!

They bloom in spring and often throughout the summer. The ripe berries are black, sweet and juicy. One of our vineyards makes a wonderful wine from them. In early fall you can see flowers and ripe berries at the same time, and all stages in between.

This season, every day you can see people out in the fields and at the roadsides, picking blackberries.