Tidying the Raspberry Patch
Sunny moment
We have been having Very strange weather these days…but during a sunny interlude Henrietta and I went out to the raspberry patch…
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expended
…where it was time to prune and thin the expended canes and tie up next year’s ones.
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Clippings
The thinned canes got snipped and clipped and put in a pile for the compost…
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Supervision
…and then our helpful cat came out to supervise the string-games.
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Ties
We are using compostable jute twine…Henrietta tied the canes to the cross-wires – not too tight and not too loose.
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Neat Rows
The idea is to get the canes separated, and nicely spaced…
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Space
…half are done and you can see the space opening up in the middle…
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Finished!
…now how satisfying is that?!
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Raspberry dreams
…Henrietta is dreaming of summer berries!
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Quimper Hittys 
Oh, Henrietta, we know just how you feel!
But no, we won’t buy raspberries flown half way round the world. It is quite possible that they will become less desirable if we give up the long period of anticipation until the next crop ripens here. We gain much delight in waiting for the change of food we cook, serve and enjoy with the passing seasons.
To everything, there is a season – and quite right too!
Roberta N-Q-H xxx
To everything there is a season, This seems to be the season of unseasonable weather! We were glad that we got out yesterday because today we are back to soggy atmospheric rivers…we hope the raspberries like it!
This story reads like eye candy for me. The temp here is 27 degrees and the feels like ( with the wind) is 16 degrees. Viewing Henrietta busy in your sunny garden is uplifting. Love, love, love your cat supervising the work…made my day.
It was a sudden warm-ish and sunny day! We were glad you could enjoy it along with us, it sounds like your weather is no fun at the moment!
We used to have blackberry canes. Always planned to make jelly but we would wind up eating all the berries as we picked them.
I think blackberries are the very best fresh and sun-warmed, or possibly mixed with apples in a crumble… we do hope to make raspberry jam this summer – we shall see if this attempt at small-fruit gardening is successful!
Besides having one of the sweetest faces in the world, Henrietta is a girl with foresight. May she have abundant raspberry moments of delight this summer! Judith
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Thanks so much, Judith. Henrietta is very hopeful for a good crop this year! Last year was the first year (after 20 years of trying to remember the thicket in the corner) that we actually got anything like a reasonable crop. We propped up what we found, thinned them randomly and hoped for the best. This year we are attempting a more horticulturally -approved pruning method – it was fun! I hope it will result in many delicious fresh berry breakfasts, and desserts, and jam!
Ah! encouragement to contemplate our own raspberry canes. Thanks so much, Henrietta for your inspiring jaunt and work on those fruitful bearers of summer fruit.
I’ve loved raspberries ever since it was my childhood job to do the summer picking in my grandmother’s garden…I used to lose myself in the raspberry patch! It is such a joy to have my own crop!
Love the blue coat.
Thanks so much – so does Henrietta!