Highbush Cranberry--May

It appears that I have come full circle with this project of posting photos of our Highbush Cranberry. I have been faithful to my commitment made last June to post monthly photos of this beautiful shrub in our yard and many of you have been faithful in checking in and commenting.

The change from April until today is really amazing. We have had a wet spring so maybe that has had an effect but as I've said all along, even though I love this bush, I have never paid quite this much attention to its changes.

Some of the berries from last year are still hanging on although they are looking pretty sad and getting ready to make their exit, I'm sure.


There are berries hanging in there right along side the new growth of what will become this year's fruit.

Last but not least are these blossoms getting ready to pop and become the beautiful white flowers this shrub produces in June.


If you've been following along monthly, Thanks! If you haven't, take a look at each of these posts to watch the progress.

June, July, August, September, October, November, December, January, February, March, and April.

Highbush Cranberry--April

It's been eleven months since I began this project of monthly photos of the Highbush Cranberry. Some of the berries are still hanging on. We've had nine inches of rain here in New England over the last three days and still they hang on. Our yard is a total quagmire that I slogged through in Paul's boots to get these photos this afternoon. You can see a puddle at the base of the bush.

The berries are still a vibrant color but definitely have seen better days. There are still many bunches that just don't seem to want to give up.



The rain stopped last night and the sun came out this morning in this beautiful blue sky. Here you can see the new growth along side of the old berries.



By next month these buds should pop. What's going to happen to the berries? I don't know. Check back in May to find out.



To see the changes, go to June, July, August, September, October, November, December, January, February, and March.

Highbush Cranberry--March 2010

I know this monthly post is getting a bit predictable. But I commited to it last June and I'm going to see it though. I have to admit the Highbush Cranberry hasn't shown much change over the last couple months. Very little change in the bush itself but some in the berries. The first day of spring is March 20, and I expect to begin to see some major changes. I hope you'll check back on April 1 to see what Mother Nature has in store.

We have had a very cold, windy, stormy winter. That these berries have held on in nearly 50 mph gusts amazes me. I have always loved this bush but I have never paid this much attention to it and its cycle. I really don’t know when or how it drops these last berries. Do they get pushed off by new growth? Do they finally just dry up and fall off? It is amazing that so many are still there after this winter.

To see the changes, go to June, July, August, September, October, November, December, January, February.

Highbush Cranberry--February

You didn't think I'd forget, did you? Not much change in the bush.

The berries are starting to look a bit dehydrated. Can't wait for spring!

To see the changes, go to June, July, August, September, October, November, December and January.

Highbush Cranberry--January

And a New Year begins......

To see the changes, go to June, July, August, September, October, November and December.

Highbush Cranberry--December

Even though the grass is still green, all the leaves are gone including the Highbush Cranberry. Some berries remain and they will through the winter. Maybe the next time you see it, there will be snow. That's the next time the bush looks really pretty. Stay tuned!



To see the changes, go to June, July, August, September, October, and November.

Highbush Cranberry---November

Fall is officially here. Fewer and fewer leaves on the bush. The berries are getting sparser as well. The birds have been helping themselves. There were several hopping around as I approached to take this photo.

To see the changes, go to June, July, August, September and October.

Highbush Cranberry--October

You can see the leaves are beginning to look a little sparse as they begin to fall. The days have begun to be noticeably shorter. The weather is getting much cooler. Fall is definitely in the air!

To see the changes, go to June, July, August and September.

Highbush Cranberry---September

The berries are beginning to ripen. Still, the best is yet to come!

To see how it has changed, go to June, July and August.

Highbush Cranberry---August

Not much of a difference in the Highbush Cranberry in the last month. The biggest change is in the fruit seen below. Many of the inferior berries have dropped leaving the best for last.

Take a look to see what the bush looked like in June and July.

Highbush Cranberry---July

My intentions were to shoot a new photo on the first of every month beginning in June but as you may know Mother Nature has not been very kind to us here in the Northeast this last month. July 1st was a rainy, nasty day; as was July 2nd and July 3rd. So, today, July 4th is not only Independence Day it is also a Chamber of Commerce weather day!

So here is what our Highbush Cranberry is looking like today, July 4th, as Lucy and I scope it out. The flowers were gone soon after the photo at the beginning of June and we now have lovely green berries as the picture below shows.

Highbush Cranberry---June

I have always been a photographer although nothing you've seen here would indicate that I'm anything other than a real amateur. The photos at the top of my blog are some I took in South Africa that I am quite proud of though.

My father and his father were both shutterbugs and had a dark room set up in the basement of the house that my father and I grew up in. At the age of 8 I was shooting and developing photos in black & white. We never developed anything in color as the processing required many more baths than the three needed to produce black & white. That's probably changed in the 40+ years since I was watching photos of my beloved dog Missey come to life in that 3rd bath, but I couldn't say.

Over the years I have seen a few framed collections of photos of country scenes shot from the same spot in different seasons and always thought I'd love to do something like that. Not particularly arty in my photography, I've never tried it until now.

In our yard is a Highbush Cranberry brought back from a visit to friends in Vermont about 16 years ago. Each season has a distinctly different look, and it is one of my favorite plants in our yard. The botanical name for the shrub is Viburnum trilobum and is a native shrub with supposedly edible fruit (haven't tried that yet) and year-round ornamental value. Although the common name for this plant describes it as a cranberry, it is actually more closely related to a honeysuckle than to the cranberries eaten with the traditional Thanksgiving turkey.

Starting today I am going to take monthly photos of the bush and post them. I hope you appreciate it as much as I do and that my photos will show why I love it.