Elderberry is one of the primary shrubs at Garfield Community Farm. We grow it for it’s flowers, for it’s berries and for its ability to compete with Japanese Knotweed on the edges of the farm. The berries of elderberry are loved by many species of birds, especially Cedar Waxwing. They’re also immune boosting for us humans, helping us get through cold and flu season. Elderberry is a shrub, meaning its multi-stemmed and gets to about 12 feet tall. It’s definitely a bit unruly, as Alyssa Creasy will attest and reminds me often. When it seems too tall or like it’s spreading too broadly it can be cut to the ground in the winter and will regrow quickly from the ground up. Elder likes cool, wet spots, like roadside ditches or places on the property that get puddled in rainy weather. The berries are only edible when cooked. Add them to a mixed berry pie, made elderberry wine, use the flowers to make elderflower cordial, or find an old recipe in your great-grandmother’s cookbook.
Our elderberry plants are in eight or ten inch tall tree pots and are from cuttings of our favorite plants at the Creasy Homestead. They stand between eight and eighteen inches tall.
Elderberry is one of the primary shrubs at Garfield Community Farm. We grow it for it’s flowers, for it’s berries and for its ability to compete with Japanese Knotweed on the edges of the farm. The berries of elderberry are loved by many species of birds, especially Cedar Waxwing. They’re also immune boosting for us humans, helping us get through cold and flu season. Elderberry is a shrub, meaning its multi-stemmed and gets to about 12 feet tall. It’s definitely a bit unruly, as Alyssa Creasy will attest and reminds me often. When it seems too tall or like it’s spreading too broadly it can be cut to the ground in the winter and will regrow quickly from the ground up. Elder likes cool, wet spots, like roadside ditches or places on the property that get puddled in rainy weather. The berries are only edible when cooked. Add them to a mixed berry pie, made elderberry wine, use the flowers to make elderflower cordial, or find an old recipe in your great-grandmother’s cookbook.
Our elderberry plants are in eight or ten inch tall tree pots and are from cuttings of our favorite plants at the Creasy Homestead. They stand between eight and eighteen inches tall.
