Planting Perennials

blueberries

One of the things that has come up over and over again in our reading up on sustainable food systems is the cultivation of perennials. While we happily plant seeds for an annual garden, we are also trying to establish long-term food sources in the form of perennial trees, shrubs, and plants.

buds

There are the usual suspects of pears, peaches, figs, avocado, an almond, a couple of blueberries, a few blackberries, and a couple of boysenberries coming out of dormancy from last year.

elderberry

And then there are some other guys like the above elderberry and the hardy kiwi below that we will be experimenting with.kiwi

There’s also the ten autumn olives (pictured below) we have been planting around swales as well as the mayhaw trees, Siberian pea shrubs, timber bamboo, and the lone satsuma orange tree.

autumn olives

bamboo

Most of the trees, shrubs, and plants have come through the mail, either from local Texas nurseries or somewhere else in the country. So whenever a large box arrives it is a busy and fun time of planting which usually starts with Papa and the boys picking up their shovels and me and Annabelle following later on.

eshovel

We’ve also been planting perennial herb seeds for both culinary and medicinal purposes – rosemary, thyme, spearmint, chamomile, lovage, mullein, comfrey, and many more that have yet to make it into the ground. These are all down in what we call the “pallet garden” as pictured below.

pear

Many of these will take years to produce, so we are trying to start them early and keep this year’s resources, water, and time focused on them first, followed by the annuals we are also working with.

wire

We are thankful for the trees, shrubs, and plants that the Lord provided and for planting days that end with the whole family sitting and twisting chicken wire cages while the sun goes down.

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3 Comments

  1. Perennial food sources are the last thing to come for us in our garden – and so far, we too have the “usual suspects” of blueberries & fruit trees. I am interested in hearing more about the autumn olives. Are these actual olives? I’ve often wondered if we could grow olives in Georgia.

  2. Hi Shannon, this post rings true to me. I can’t take credit for the perenials in our yard, though. We were blessed to purchase a home from a family that carefully planned food producing perenials. I am looking forward to enjoying our rhubarb for the first time… I’m not quite sure how long to let it go before harvesting some. Last year we enjoyed raspberries and Italian plums, and I need to take more advantage of our herb garden. Thanks for the post!

  3. We planted 6 elderberries down by the creek last year and thought we’d lost them in the drought, but miraculously all 6 have poked healthy leaves through the ground. Yesterday I found 2 of 3 rhubarb plants growing down there that we planted 2 or 3 years ago.
    Blackberries and grapes are doing well and 3 pawpaws are heeled in and actually should be put out today. Have you heard of buffalo currents? They’re native to the plains. I have 3 and if you want I’ll probably have suckers in the fall. I’ve tried twice to transplant agaritas from down there and failed both times but I hold out hope. Maybe a trade – current starts for agarita seeds? 🙂

    Judy on Big Turtle Creek

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