Blackberry problems

Every summer I wage war on the blackberry brambles fighting their way into my garden, and every year they come back for more. Now, thanks to this article on KUOW last week, I know who is to blame. Luther Burbank, an experimental gardener who lived at the end of the nineteenth century, was the first to cultivate and sell blackberries in the US.

In 1894, he offered the berry in a special circular he sent buyers in mild climates. It was popular.

By the early 1900s, the Himalaya Giant – which would eventually be known as the Himalayan blackberry – was especially thriving in the Puget Sound region.

The article continues with a brief history of his work:

Thurtle said Burbank set out to create new varieties of fruits and vegetables that would be delicious and prolific – and that could withstand the voyage on the nation’s new transcontinental railroad.

Burbank sold his hundreds of plant creations through catalogs with pictures of shiny fruit and shinier superlatives.

He created the earliest of all large cherries, which he named the “Burbank.” Burbank’s inventions could also be weird – like a spineless cactus.

Or his potato-tomato hybrid, which somehow never took off. But others were smash hits. Like the freestone peach and elephant garlic.

Its an interesting story about a colorful historic figure who has had a huge impact on this region. And next time I’m up to my elbows in scratchy thorns and vines that refuse to die, I know whose name to curse. BURBANK!

Image courtesy of Michael May, SFEI