‘BERRY’ Sweet Rewards

At least one major member of the Rubus genus — blackberry, raspberry, dewberry, and wineberry — lives in every U.S. state. We annually have a goal to pick, can, and freeze 10 gallons of these berries borne by shrubs in the rose family. Our harvest goes into pies, cobblers, jams, pancakes, muffins, smoothies, and other delights we put up for enjoying the rest of the year. But Rubus members do more than supply us with sweet treats. The shrubs also form dense thickets that provide nesting, food, and escape cover for wildlife.

You can create wild berry thickets on your property fairly easily. Trevor Saville, who operates a farm and forestry consulting business in Eagle Rock, Virginia, explains how: “Blackberry and other family members are often in the seed bank,” he says. “All it takes to activate those seeds is some kind of disturbance. To create this habitat, landowners can make small clearcuts or gap cuts with a chainsaw, conduct a controlled burn, or bush-hog a section in a field. species are