Blackberry, Raspberry (Rubus spp.)
image source boomersurvive-thriveguide.typepad.com
Another classic favorite! Most people think of these as prickly briers, but thornless varieties are available also. Instead of spending lots of money buying blackberries and raspberries at the store, why not grow your own at home?
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 3~7
Sun: full sun
Water: moist
Soil: neutral
Height & Width: 4~6 ft tall, 8~12 ft spread
Uses: edible fruit
Function: living fence, pollinator attractor
Growth Pattern: fast, sprawling, trellis helps improve production
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 3~7
Sun: full sun
Water: moist
Soil: neutral
Height & Width: 4~6 ft tall, 8~12 ft spread
Uses: edible fruit
Function: living fence, pollinator attractor
Growth Pattern: fast, sprawling, trellis helps improve production
Blueberry, Highbush (Vaccinium corymbosum)
image source usefulplants.org
Nobody can resist a cool, plump, juicy blueberry during the mid-summer heat. Why not have a couple of these in your front yard so you can have all the fresh blueberries you want in season, or a dozen bushes if you want to have enough to store and eat year-round? In addition to providing delicious fruit, the red autumn foliage is a delight for the eyes as well. Best of all, blueberries require very little maintenance, making it an ideal landscaping plant.
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 4~8
Sun: full sun
Water: wet, moist (blueberries like being near water if possible)
Soil: acidic
Height & Width: 6~12 ft tall and wide
Uses: edible fruit, food for native birds
Functions: breathtaking autumn colors in your landsacpe
Growth Pattern: fast, reproduces readily by suckers
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 4~8
Sun: full sun
Water: wet, moist (blueberries like being near water if possible)
Soil: acidic
Height & Width: 6~12 ft tall and wide
Uses: edible fruit, food for native birds
Functions: breathtaking autumn colors in your landsacpe
Growth Pattern: fast, reproduces readily by suckers
Curant (Ribes spp.)
image source hoodriverswcd.org
Cousin of gooseberries, curants do well in many of the same places. Currants also come in a variety of colors--red, black, pink champagne. Fill shady niches with currants and maximize food production at home at the same time!
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 3~7
Sun: sun, full shade
Water: moist
Soil: acidic~neutral
Height & Width: 3~6 ft tall and wide
Uses: edible fruit
Functions: pollinator attractor
Growth Pattern: medium-fast, suckering
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 3~7
Sun: sun, full shade
Water: moist
Soil: acidic~neutral
Height & Width: 3~6 ft tall and wide
Uses: edible fruit
Functions: pollinator attractor
Growth Pattern: medium-fast, suckering
Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)
image source bodyandsoulreconnection.com
Nothing flowers or produces an abundance of berries quite like a mature elderberry shrub. In the spring it explodes in dense flower clusters and can yield up 25 gallons of berries. Elderberry likes to grow in riparian zones (along water), and it's berries are used to make natural cough medicine (such as Sumbucus) and treat cold and flu symptoms. Like all of these native plants, growing elderberry needs practically no attention--it can thrive and provide you tons of rich, nutritious berries if planted in the right environment.
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 3~10
Sun: sun, part shade
Water: wet, moist
Soil: neutral
Height & Width: 6~12 ft tall and wide
Uses: edible berries, medicinal (berries and flowers), berries also good for making wines & meads
Functions: pollinator attractor, gorgeous robust flowers in spring
Growth Pattern: fast, spreads by suckers
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 3~10
Sun: sun, part shade
Water: wet, moist
Soil: neutral
Height & Width: 6~12 ft tall and wide
Uses: edible berries, medicinal (berries and flowers), berries also good for making wines & meads
Functions: pollinator attractor, gorgeous robust flowers in spring
Growth Pattern: fast, spreads by suckers
Gogi, Wolfberry (Lycium barbarum)
image source mason.gmu.edu
Probably one of the most nutritious plants on the planet. Gogi berries are packed with antioxidants, B-vitamins, 18 amino acids, vitamin C, and they help eliminate tumor-causing cells in the body. A native to the Himalayans, gogis can grow even in poor, clayey or rocky soils--growing it in rich midwestern soil is a breeze! The only caution about gogis is that they have thorns, so a good use for them in the landscape is as a living fence to keep out unwanted neighborhood animals.
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 5~8
Sun: full sun, partial shade
Water: moist
Soil: accepts most types
Height & Width: 6~12 ft tall and wide
Uses: edible fruit, edible greens (for cooking)
Functions: living fence, beautiful pink~purple flowers
Growth Pattern: fast, sprawling like blackberry or raspberry
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 5~8
Sun: full sun, partial shade
Water: moist
Soil: accepts most types
Height & Width: 6~12 ft tall and wide
Uses: edible fruit, edible greens (for cooking)
Functions: living fence, beautiful pink~purple flowers
Growth Pattern: fast, sprawling like blackberry or raspberry
Gooseberry (Ribes uva-crispa)
image source hort.purdue.edu
Another great edible foundation plant, gooseberries can grow in shadier places your blueberries and gogis can't. Gooseberries will produce yummy fruit on the north side of your home or under the canopy of other fruit trees, but be sure to keep them out of afternoon sun.
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 3~6
Sun: sun, part shade
Water: moist
Soil: acidic~neutral
Height & Width: 3~5 ft tall and wide
Uses: edible fruit
Functions: pollinator attractor,
Growth Pattern: medium, suckering
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 3~6
Sun: sun, part shade
Water: moist
Soil: acidic~neutral
Height & Width: 3~5 ft tall and wide
Uses: edible fruit
Functions: pollinator attractor,
Growth Pattern: medium, suckering
Nanking Cherry (Prunus tomentosa)
images sourced from usefulplants.org
Do you like the full spring bloom of ornamental cherries in the spring? Nanking Cherry will brighten up your yard (like the top, left photo) every spring and provide you with an abundance of minerature cherry fruit a month later. Best of all the Nanking doesn't have many pest or mold issues like other Prunus species.
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 3~7
Sun: sun
Water: dry, moist
Soil: neutral, rich with good drianage
Height & Width: 6~10 ft tall and wide
Uses: edible berries, medicinal (flowers)
Functions: beauty in landscape, pollinator attractor
Growth Pattern: medium
Rugosa Rose (Rosa Rugosa)
image source backyardnature.net
Not quite a berry, but everyone loves roses in their yard--why not have ones that produce edible rose hips? Unlike hybridized varieties, these roses smell splendid and produce rose hips high in vitamin C. About the only bad thing about the Rugosa Rose is that it spreads quickly--of course if you like them that's not a bad thing at all!
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 2~7
Sun: full sun
Water: dry, moist
Soil: acidic-neutral
Height & Width: 4~6 ft tall, can spread more than 8 ft wide
Uses: edible flowers & hips
Functions: pollinator attractor, beneficial wildlife shelter, beauty
Growth Pattern: fast, spreads by suckers
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 2~7
Sun: full sun
Water: dry, moist
Soil: acidic-neutral
Height & Width: 4~6 ft tall, can spread more than 8 ft wide
Uses: edible flowers & hips
Functions: pollinator attractor, beneficial wildlife shelter, beauty
Growth Pattern: fast, spreads by suckers
Serviceberry, Juneberry & Saskatoon (Amelanchier spp.)
image source cbgarden.org
Imagine blueberries that grow on a tree and bear fruit in the spring...and you have a serviceberry! Like blueberries, serviceberries contain anthocyanins and antioxidants, have beautiful spring blossoms, and require practically no maintenance. Having a serviceberry in your yard can extend your season of berries-of-blue from spring to late summer.
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 3~8
Sun: full sun, partial shade
Water: dry, moist
Soil: acidic~neutral
Height & Width: Serviceberries come in tree and shrub varieties. Juneberry, a tree, grows from 35~50 ft tall and 20~35 ft wide. Saskatoon, a shrub, is 5~15 ft tall and 5~15 ft wide.
Uses: edible fruit, native wildlife forage
Functions: pollinator attractor
Growth Pattern: medium-paced,
USDA Cold Hardiness Zone: 3~8
Sun: full sun, partial shade
Water: dry, moist
Soil: acidic~neutral
Height & Width: Serviceberries come in tree and shrub varieties. Juneberry, a tree, grows from 35~50 ft tall and 20~35 ft wide. Saskatoon, a shrub, is 5~15 ft tall and 5~15 ft wide.
Uses: edible fruit, native wildlife forage
Functions: pollinator attractor
Growth Pattern: medium-paced,
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