Honeyberry

It is mid-March here in Devon, England, and my two little honeyberry (Lonicera caerulea) bushes are just coming into bloom, the perfect time to give them a mention. 

 

They are known for producing some of the earliest fruit of the season. I harvested my first berries from the young bushes last year, just a tiny handful. Judging from the number of flowers both bushes have this year, I'm looking forward to a much bigger bounty.

I own two bushes of different varieties. One of them is the variety 'kamtschatica duet' while the other is an unknown variety. They each have distinctively different leaf shapes and growth habits though. Duet has much rounder leaves and slighly sturdier stems. 

When buying them, I searched and searched for two different varieties to maximise cross-pollination between the two. Like so many plants, they produce much better harvests when self-pollination is avoided.

I should mention, the handful of purple fruit last year were delicious just straight off the bush. They taste reminiscent of blueberries.

 

The berries are elongated with a strange, inside-out appearance. The closest shape I can think of, is the torpedo-like shape belonging to a pair of clean socks stuffed into each other ready for stacking back in their drawer. Definitely unusual. 

Additionally, and rather unexpectedly, they don't have a pit. Instead, they are filled with a profusion of tiny seeds, totally unobtrusive while eating. This is because they are a species of honeysuckle. I should point out though, they are none-vining. Instead, they have a more convenient bush growth habit.

I think of them as wonderful additions to the garden extending the length of my fruiting season that bit longer, an asset not to ignore.