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Post by ottawagardener on Jun 1, 2009 18:17:42 GMT -5
I love the surprises in the garden. Here are some pansies that I put in a couple years back to fill in a bare spot in a newly planted part shade garden. Despite my expectations of demise, they have survived (or reseeded?) and now the bunch berry has invaded to create this bouquet:  |
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Post by mnjrutherford on Jun 1, 2009 18:44:17 GMT -5
Wow, the bunch berry (which I've never heard of before!) looks just like dogwood. Are they related?
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Post by ottawagardener on Jun 1, 2009 20:07:18 GMT -5
Yes, it's sometimes known as creeping dogwood: Cornus canadensis. Good eye!
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Post by fulenn on Jun 1, 2009 22:16:13 GMT -5
That wouldn't look any nicer if you had planned it that way. It's beautiful!
Fulenn
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Post by flowerpower on Jun 2, 2009 4:37:16 GMT -5
That wouldn't look any nicer if you had planned it that way. It's beautiful! Fulenn I agree!  It looks lovely, Telsing. Bunchberry is a wildflower here in the Northeast. It looks really nice with the berries also. It puts on a nice show for such a tiny plant. |
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Post by plantsnobin on Jun 2, 2009 8:31:37 GMT -5
It seems nature always puts together the best plant combos, no matter how hard we try to plan. I wish the bunchberry would grow here, but conditions are not suitable for it. I would love to use it as a groundcover for an area too steep to mow.
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Post by mnjrutherford on Jun 2, 2009 12:03:02 GMT -5
Creeping Dogwood huh? Wow, that's fascinating! Are the berries edible for humans or wildlife? I wouldn't mind having some of that. Would it grow in a forest margin?
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Post by grungy on Jun 2, 2009 14:19:29 GMT -5
Jo, not sure about your climate, but bunch berry or creeping dogwood grow in the light aboreal forests of northern British Columbia and Alberta. Amazing what different names plants get locally.
When we were kids we use to call them pigeon berries. Don't know if they are edible or not as we weren't allowed to eat any wild berries that weren't on my mom's prescribed list of edibles.
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Post by mnjrutherford on Jun 2, 2009 17:01:38 GMT -5
Well Val, sounds like it might be a bit to hot for it here. I know the dogwood berries are great animal food. They don't KILL people, but the texture is nasty and the flavor non-existent. I know this cause I tried them when I was a kid. My folks didn't keep a good eye on me! My poor kids don't suffer that malady!  |
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Post by canadamike on Jun 2, 2009 20:28:23 GMT -5
I've muched on them a lot as a kid. They definitely are edible, although quite bland.
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Post by Penny on Jun 3, 2009 5:39:03 GMT -5
How pretty are those.
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Post by flowerpower on Jun 3, 2009 6:14:05 GMT -5
It seems nature always puts together the best plant combos, no matter how hard we try to plan. I wish the bunchberry would grow here, but conditions are not suitable for it. I would love to use it as a groundcover for an area too steep to mow. Is the area too dry for bunchberry? What about ajuga reptans for the slope? I have a ton of the burgundy if you want to try it. |
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Post by ottawagardener on Jun 3, 2009 6:37:56 GMT -5
Like Michel said, they are edible but the taste isn't something to write home about. My kids have pretty wide margins of accepibility when it comes to garden nibbles so they don't mind.
I got the parent plants from a friend who has land. I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) that their range includes woodlands in the east too.
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Post by plantsnobin on Jun 3, 2009 7:58:43 GMT -5
Thanks for the offer fp, but I've got ajuga already. It gets a little too hot here for the buchberry. If anyone wants to try a Cornus for the berries, you might want to look into Cornus Mas.
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Post by bunkie on Jun 3, 2009 8:01:59 GMT -5
wonderful pics! great display of colors!
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It looks lovely, Telsing. Bunchberry is a wildflower here in the Northeast. It looks really nice with the berries also. It puts on a nice show for such a tiny plant. 
