A Harrowsmith Gardener's Guide: Berries

Susan Brown is a B.C. horticulturist, permaculture designer, and early
childhood education instructor.

A small book on small fruits, this fifth Harrowsmith gardener’s guide
is edited by Harrowsmith senior editor Jennifer Bennett. Bennett writes
the introduction and the lead chapter, which features strawberries.
Lewis Hill, a noted northern garden writer, contributes the chapter on
bush berries—blueberries, currants, gooseberries, elderberries,
rose-hips, and Saskatoons. Dorothy Hinshaw Patent, a Montana gardener
and Rodale Press contributor, treats the brambles—red, yellow, purple,
and black raspberries, plus the less hardy blackberries and their
hybrids.

A special treat is the chapter on wild berries by B.C. ethnobotanist
Nancy J. Turner. Her work includes a listing of poisonous and
unpalatable native fruits.

Jo Ann Gardner offers a chapter on using and preserving small fruits in
the kitchen. U.S. and Canadian climate-zone maps, a glossary, a
mail-order source directory, and an index are provided. In addition to
the color photos and drawings accompanying the text, the book includes
10 full-page full-color photographs of frameable quality.

Care is given throughout to accurately identifying plants, both by
genus and species and by illustration. The differing regional names and
confusing family relations among the small fruits warrant such
attention.

Methods for home propagation and increase of plants are included. This
self-sufficiency information enhances small fruits’ traditional
association with living well regionally.