HomeblogBlue honeysuckle berries An environmentally-friendly alternative to the blueberry, blue honeysuckle has a fantastic flavour. This was an exciting find on my allotment this weekend. Parting the soft-leaved stems of the blue honeysuckle bush, I found my first harvestable fruit. Okay, so it’s only one little berry, but it still found itself the crowning feature of my breakfast pancakes the next day. These plants came from Mark Diacono’s Otter Farm Shop, and it was his wonderful book, A Taste of the Unexpected, that first inspired me to grow them. They are an environmentally-friendly alternative to blueberries because they do not need ericaceous soil, and therefore do not use up peat. Instead, they grow very easily, cope with very cold temperatures (they originate from Siberia), and have very pretty flowers. Oh, and the berries? Well, here is that one little berry, sitting atop one of my healthy pancakes. It is juicier than a normal blueberry, and does have a slightly more honeyed taste. First taste very good indeed. All the better knowing that there’s a nice crop of unripe berries waiting on the plot. Have a look at these and other unusual plants on the Otter Farm Shop site: I bought these myself, partly because I’m such a fan of Mark’s work and partly because he’s so kind and obliging. And it’s jolly difficult to find half the stuff he has in stock anywhere else. You can find the blue honeysuckle plants here. Share this:Share 3 Responses ClaireD July 3, 2013 They look delicious! I never know you could eat honeysuckle! Reply F&F July 7, 2013 Hi Claire - these aren’t the standard honeysuckle you can grow in gardens, which I believe is poisonous! Reply Liam Tayler July 5, 2013 Congratulations,.. I believe you are one of the first in the UK to grow these berries… what cultivar do you have? We will soon be supplying Edible Blue Honeysuckle (Lonicera Caerulae) also known as Haskap or Honeyberry to the UK market and we would be fascinated to know how the rest of the harvest goes. http://www.lahaveforests.com Yours Liam Reply Leave a Reply Cancel Reply Your email address will not be published. Name* Email* Website Comment Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email.
F&F July 7, 2013 Hi Claire - these aren’t the standard honeysuckle you can grow in gardens, which I believe is poisonous! Reply
Liam Tayler July 5, 2013 Congratulations,.. I believe you are one of the first in the UK to grow these berries… what cultivar do you have? We will soon be supplying Edible Blue Honeysuckle (Lonicera Caerulae) also known as Haskap or Honeyberry to the UK market and we would be fascinated to know how the rest of the harvest goes. http://www.lahaveforests.com Yours Liam Reply
