Huckleberry Heaven

I interrupt my regularly scheduled gardening post to write instead about huckleberries, a delicacy that grows only in the mountains of the northwestern United States (and probably parts of Canada). My grandma tried many times to transplant a bush into her Spokane garden, without success. I'd plant my backyard full of huckleberry shrubs if I could get them to grow down here.


Huckleberries and the picking of them occupy places of honor in my family's traditions. Over sixty years ago, my grandparents began making annual trips to the nearby mountains to pick huckleberries. Gradually children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren started coming along. Though my grandparents didn't make the trip this year, we had a large group gather from across the country to carry on the tradition.


Huckleberries are related to blueberries and resemble their cousins, though they are usually smaller and more purple than blue. Their flavor is much more intense. They add some tart zing to muffins, pancakes or my favorite: huckleberry pie.


We drive far along bumpy mountain roads to find our favorite spot - which I can't reveal lest I be disowned - high in the Idaho mountains. Recycled milk jugs are attached to belt loops, and we pick madly for a few hours before heading home. This year hubby and I brought home enough for eight pies.


The berries are washed, dried, spread on cookie sheets and frozen before being double-bagged and kept in the freezer for treats - mostly pies - throughout the year. If you ever happen to get your hands on a quart of huckleberries (local fruit stands often sell them in August for about $40 per gallon), here's our pie recipe. It tastes best with homemade vanilla ice cream, but store bought will do in a pinch.

Huckleberry Pie - 9 or 10 inch size
3 1/2 to 4 cups huckleberries
1 cup sugar*
3 Tablespoons Tapioca
pinch of salt
pie pastry for a double crust

Mix berries, sugar, Tapioca and salt in a microwavable bowl and microwave until hot (usually several minutes - time varies depending on your microwave and whether berries are frozen or fresh). Place bottom crust in 9 or 10 inch pie pan. Pour berry mixture into bottom pie crust, add top and cut slits into top crust. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, then turn heat down and bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes. The pie is definitely finished if the filling bubbles out around the edges!

*I like my huckleberry pie on the tart side (it works best with the sweet ice cream this way), but if you prefer a milder flavor, then you can add up to 3 Tablespoons more of sugar.

Golden, Rosy, Peach & Periwinkle West Garden

A few other bloggers have mentioned that they'd like to see my garden. I'm afraid they wouldn't be very impressed with my 2 year old landscape. The front yard is going in the right direction, though the plants are still small. The backyard is just a holding area as I try out plants to see where they'd work best in the final backyard design. But I've been pleased with how the west garden bed is coming along. The photo above shows the bed in late June, with the 'Early Sunrise' coreopsis in full golden bloom, contrasting with deep blue-violet 'May Night' salvia and the unlabelled inherited lavender shrubs.


The view in late May and early June included 'Royal Amethyst' iris, shown here with MN salvia. Golden iris and puffballs of periwinkle-blue muscari made a nice contrast, though they aren't included in this picture.


This photo shows another angle of the June garden. You can see the daylily 'Stella d'Oro' blooming near the edge of the bed.


The daylilies have been the stars during July. Here 'Elizabeth Salter' is shown at the bottom, with Sue Rothbauer blooming in the photo's center.


I like the way this peachy 'Siloam Double Classic' daylily blends into the mix. More coreopsis (tickseed) is also shown here with the periwinkle blooms of 'Blue Clips' campanula from my grandmother's garden.


Three pots of no-name rosy-apricot dahlias were purchased from Lowe's on a whim and planted in the border. They look like pictures of 'American Dawn' dahlias in the White Flower Farm catalog, so that's what I'm calling them.


The photo above shows the repeating pattern of the bed. The lavender shrubs look sad after being sheared back following their bloom season. I might replace them with divisions of 'Walker's Low' catmint from the front yard, since WL keeps blooming all season.


Two 'Crown Princess Margareta' english roses were added after seeing a 2-pack for $20 at Costco this spring. At the north end of the bed, a similarly colored 'Teasing Georgia' english rose will be trained up a trellis against the white fence.


Here's another shot of the flower. This rose is supposed to be very hardy, so the two plants should make good climbers on the black trellises I brought home from Lowe's this week.


I'll finish with this shot of the garden as it appeared about 10 minutes ago. The trellises add some nice height to the narrow bed and should look even better next year when the english roses are clambering up them. Well, everything should look better next year: the salvia and dahlias will be taller, the daylilies filled out and more floriferous. But this season's photos show promise, don't you think?

Mugshots: 4 Pink Daylilies, Part II

Last week I posted about my four rosy-pink daylilies, and this post includes my four peachy-pink daylilies.


1. Dublin Elaine – 32 in tall scapes, 5.5 in flowers, midseason, deciduous, from Oakes Daylilies


This plant won the 2009 All-American Exhibition award from the All-American Daylily Selection Council. It’s taller than I would prefer, but I ordered it anyway based on reports of its vigor: up to 40 blooms on a scape (flower stalk) plus rapid growth of the clump and good rebloom (rare for a pink or a double). The one-year-old plant is growing well and putting out numerous scapes. It began blooming in late July, and the color is really, really lovely: glowing mid coral-pink, with diamond dusting that sparkles in the sun.


All of the pictures above are Dublin Elaine; I obviously got carried away snapping photos of her. As you can see in the photo below, not all of the blooms have been double, but I like the single flowers as well.


2. Millie Schlumpf – 20 in tall scapes, 6 in flowers, early, evergreen, from Oakes


Obviously this is a daylily worth having just for its name! This plant was the first of my daylilies – other than Stella d’Oro – to begin blooming, with its first flowers opening at the end of June. The flowers are a clear, glowing peachy-pink.


Though Oakes lists the flowers as 6 inches wide, they seem smaller than that to me. They have fewer ruffles and less substance than some of the others, but the blooms open completely and still look fresh in the evening. I find myself really enjoying this perky daylily (pictured below as well).


3. Barbara Mitchell – 20 in tall scapes, 6 in flowers, midseason, semi-evergreen, from Oakes


Barbara is an old favorite for many gardeners, and I can see why. The blooms are peachy-pink with hints of dusky rose, and they have plenty of substance and ruffles.


Blooming began at the beginning of July, and rebloom is expected.


Mine have a problem staying fresh throughout the day, though. By late afternoon, the edges start to look ragged. The flower color isn’t as special as some of my other pinks, but this is still a nice plant.


4. Seminole Wind – 23 in tall scapes, 6.5 in flowers, early-midseason, semi-evergreen, from Oakes


The color of this daylily is complex and beautiful – coppery-coral-rose with a golden throat. When it began blooming at the beginning of July, I found myself repeatedly drawn to it from across the front yard. After an unusually cool week with highs in the 70’s, the color deepened to an especially intriguing shade, but none of my pictures turned out of those blooms. The color-drenched flowers stand out clearly despite the glare of the summer sun (though they might be lighter in hotter climates). They also boast plenty of substance and nice ruffles. This plant is a winner in my book!


I hope these observations are helpful to you. In a few years, I’ll be able to write more on the growth habits and vigor of these daylilies. Meanwhile, I’ll be doing posts on my peach daylilies after they all bloom. Apricot Sparkles, Jean Swann, Spanish Glow, Siloam Double Classic, Autumn Wood, Smoky Mountain Autumn, and Elizabeth Salter will be included.