My Edible (or not!) Backyard

One of the thing we love most about this house is that it is on a corner lot with a huge, South-facing backyard. We are so looking forward to planting a big garden in the Spring, and even trying our hand at raising chickens!

As we've spent time outside trimming hedges and playing with the dog and kids, we've tried to identify all of the stuff that is already growing back there. I imagine we won't know what a lot of it is until it blooms next Spring. Even then, we're complete newbies and are pretty much ignorant when it comes to vegetation - wild or otherwise.

I was absolutely thrilled to venture out back with a friend just after we moved in and discover that we had several very lovely berries growing! One looked like a blueberry on the outside, but a rasberry on the inside. My friend thought they might be chokeberries or even elderberries! I harvested then last week as they were starting to dry up, just in case they were really something awesome. I even tasted one when curiosity overcame me and found it to be very bitter, but a lot of unsweetened berries are, right??

Unfortunately, after a massive internet search I was able to determine that my lovely berries are in fact toxic poke berries and not edible in the least. :( No, I didn't get sick from the one I ate - but honestly that makes them even more boring! lol! I'll be using the berries I harvested to dye yarn. Hopefully they will redeem themselves. :)

A few days later (after the lawn had recovered from the mowing my husband did upon moving in), we discovered that we have some kind of beautiful wild strawberries weaving in and out of the clover and grass. I know nothing about strawberries, but I resisted the urge to eat one this time just in case. ;)

Another disappointment unfortunately, it appears they are duchesnea indica - or "mock" strawberries.

There are two other kinds of berries growing right now that don't look like anything edible I've seen, and I don't have the heart to even look them up now. Come on Spring so we can plant things we'll actually be able to eat!!!