For the last couple of years I had just assumed that the red berries I had seen all over this time of year were choke cherries. A closer look and a browsing of the net told me differently. These are honeysuckle berries from the species Lonicera maackii if I am not mistaken. The plant can be found pretty much EVERYWHERE in this part of the country and tends to be very invasive. The birds do enjoy the fruit though. I understand the fruit to be edible but bland though I’ve never tried them.

This Dartmoor Butterfly Bush started out as a single plant last spring. This spring when it came up I decided to move it as it was pretty cramped where it was. As I dug it up it came apart into 3 distinct clumps so now I have three. Last fall I picked up a Nanho Blue and a Black Knight but neither of those made it through the winter. I think I planted them a little too late last year and didn’t keep an eye on the water situation