Edible Shrubs at the Brine Garden

Created on 8/24/2009

Part of the benefit of joining garden organizations is meeting other fellow gardening… shall we say, enthusiasts. I met Duncan Brine at the Garden Writers Association Symposium last year in Portland but it wasn’t until yesterday that I got a peek at his fabulous garden in the Hudson Valley.

Duncan and his wife Julia have transformed their six acre property into a paradise garden of framed views, vistas, meandering pathways, and places to sit and take it all in. The garden is a study in naturalistic design emphasizing the artistic use of native trees, shrubs and perennials. As we meandered through the vast garden we snacked on some ripe edible berries and talked about homemade preserves and jellies.

Here are a few of the edible small trees and shrubs that are just about ready for harvest in the Brine Garden. These are plants you should check out for your landscape to extend the edible garden beyond the boundaries of the potager.

Cornus mas ‘Redstone’

Redstone Cornelian cherry dogwood is a small ornamental tree that tolerates part shade. It produces drooping red edible fruits in late summer which are enjoyed by birds or a few humans out for a walk. We picked a couple and tasted them. The fruit was tart, but not unpleasant. Combined with a little sugar and transformed into jelly I imagine it would be delicious on hot buttered toast. Each drupe contains a large central seed so boil the fruit, skin, seeds and all and then strain through fine muslin cloth for jelly or use a food mill for jam.

Viburnum trilobum ‘Wentworth’

American cranberry bush viburnum is native to the United States. ‘Wentworth’ is an outstanding cultivar that has been selected for its abundant fruit set. The large shrub tolerates some shade and the bright red berries are edible. I have to confess they weren’t very tasty fresh from the shrub, but I imagined they could be scrumptious in some jam as Michael Dirr suggests. Julia, had a different opinion, however. One year she went through the laborious effort of collecting the fruit, adding the sugar, straining the fruit and boiling the syrup. She said it made the most beautiful red jelly. In the end, they did not prefer the distinctive odor of the fruit and thus the jelly. They threw the batch out. I am enormously curious if anyone else has used the native cranberry bush viburnum to make jelly. Let me know your experiences. Don’t let the questionable fruit flavor deter you. The American variety has many qualities that make it a better choice than the non-native European cranberry bush viburnum.

Sambucus nigra ssp. Canadensis

American elderberry is native to the United States. The white spring flowers can be used for elderflower cordial or the purple berries can be made into dark purple jelly in late summer. We didn’t taste these berries but we admired them in the garden. I’ve heard you need to cook them before eating. The attractive, lacy cut leaf foliage of ‘Laciniata’ with its drooping dark berries intermingled perfectly with Oak leaf hydrangea and other shrubs in the garden making a perfect picture even if you never got around to harvesting the berries.