One of the berry plants is he black raspberry is a perennial plant with biennial stems or canes that grow from the perennial root system. During its first year of growth, the black raspberry grows to full height of 4 to seven feet with no branches and producing large pinnate leaves with five or seven leaflets. It typically does not produce any flowers. During the second year,, it does not grow any taller but grows side shoots which produce smaller leaves with three or five leaflets. The flowers come in the second year during the late spring on the tips of the side shoots, each flower about two inches in diameter with five white petals. The fruit is red and sweet but slightly tart and produced in summer or early fall. Botanically speaking, it is not a berry but a fruit that is an aggregate of an outer fleshy part around a central core, which can be picked separate from each other. The black raspberry typically grows in forests, forming open stands under a tree canopy, and denser stands in clearings. Its species name idaeus comes from its occurrence on Mount Ida near Troy in northwest Turkey, where the ancient Greeks grew in great numbers.



Another of the berry plants is the dewberry plant which is closely related to the blackberry plant and produces fruit that is similar to the blackberry in shape and appearance, though it is much larger than the blackberry plant and is typically dark reddish-black in color. The fruit from this plant completely edible and is often used in cakes, pies, fruit bowls and other food dishes. The plant itself is often described as a perennial plant, with regard to producing fruit, its growth may vary depending on the current fluctuation of the climate. The dewberry is self-seeding as well as self-sufficient, requiring little care in return bountiful harvests of its fruit. It grows best in partial sun and medium or dry conditions and tolerates almost any type of soil or environment, including but not limited to, clays, sand, rocky areas and soils and clays containing loam. The plant is unique in that it tends to ripen nearly two weeks before blackberries and other berries. It also attracts a lot of wildlife, including bees, butterflies, flies, caterpillars, moths, squirrels, chipmunks and mice, among others.



Another of the berry plants is the bunchberry which is a little plant, growing no more than six inches in height, primarily in moist, cool woods. The slender stem, with one or two pairs of small leaves, springs from creeping, woody shoots and is topped by a circle of six larger leaves, smooth and bright green in color, setting off a pretty white blossom, with a slender flower-stalk. This looks like a single flower, measuring about an inch across, but it is really composed of a number of tiny, greenish flowers, forming a cluster in the center, and surrounded by four white bracts, which look like large petals. The flowers are succeeded by a bunch of red berries, insipid in flavor, but vivid scarlet in color.

It is unlikely that you want a driveway or walkway to be a dominant feature in your yard. When you are planning these areas, you should allow enough space for them to be fully functional–to allow enough room for the traffic they will receive–without being overbearing. Ideally, you should design your home so that the garage is close to the house and near the street. Having the garage near the street and close to the home will make less pathways necessary.

Your driveway needs to be large enough to allow for off-street parking. You need to design the structure of the driveway well also. Most importantly, you need to create a quality drainage system. If the soil under the driveway cannot drain, the wet soil will cause the driveway to break down, especially with heavy vehicles driving on it. You should build your driveway out of stable materials that won’t be washed away by storms or displaced by snowplows. Exceptions can be made to stable materials if your driveway is exceptionally large, or if your landscaping style calls for something else. In these cases, gravel or crushed rocks can work. If you use materials such as these, just know that you will have more maintenance to do.

Walkways should look like they belong where they are placed. Adding paths through your landscaping garden will greatly improve your lawn. It will encourage people to wander through your yard to view the beautiful things you planted. In addition, the path can add a unique look, and it will allow you to get back to work on your plants without trampling over other plants.

You must be very conscious of the material you choose for the path. Concrete may not be right, especially for a path through a garden. More natural materials such as wood, flagstone, or tanbark, would be better alternatives for this. If you have a colonial house, brink will compliment it well. A more modern house tends to look nice with wood. Of course there are variations to this, using bricks in a landscape for example, but you need to use your personal style and desire to make your choice.

Garden Pools and Fountains

All plants and animals need water to live, so it is no surprise that we are naturally attracted to water in any form. The use of water will enrich your garden and delight your senses. You can even have a garden pool on your patio or terrace if you wish. Moving water is especially intriguing, such as a fountain or a winding stream. These water features can be intermixed with garden flowers and stones for a very nice effect. The water will actually help the plants grow, just through it’s evaporation. This is a method of giving plants relief from excessive heat and dryness.

You should be able to see the pool or water feature from multiple places in your garden. It is pretty simple to install a small pool or fountain in your garden. You do not need much power, just a small motor and pump for the fountain or if you have a small stream. You can be creative with the styling you choose for the water feature and the area around it.