These are the berries of the Creeping Oregon Grape Holly (Mahonia Repens). I leave them for the birds to eat as they love them. Once, years ago, I did pick the berries for jam. It took me forever to get enough berries and the resulting jam wasn't all that great, just ok. The biggest problem, though, was that after I picked the berries that year I had to watch the birds forlornly poking through the bushes looking for missing berries. I felt terrible! So I replaced the missing Grape Holly berries with out-of-season, very expensive imported Blueberries. Then my budget felt terrible, lol.
So now I just leave the berries for the birds. It's much easier on my budget...and my heart!
Good choice! I too would rather have the birds than the jam.
ReplyDeleteYes, I can buy jam at the market, but no amount of money could buy the beautiful wild birds that visit me!
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