Power. Crispness. Formal. Wait, are we talking about Usain Bolt’s running technique? Nope! These are just a few of the adjectives we use to describe Columnar trees.  Although, we do believe these natural specimens could win an Olympic gold medal or two as well. The new craze of vertical accents in the landscape is upon us, and we want you to be fast adapting for all the right reasons. So let’s jump right in! Our Go-To’s For Tight Spaces Evergreen Columnar Blue Spruce is known for its dramatic silver-blue foliage color! It also enjoys showing off a striking upright form when planted. The best part yet, there’s little pruning or maintenance required.  You’ll want to plant this tree where you can see it from the comfort of your home, especially during the winter months when it’s lit up like a Christmas tree! Degroot’s Spire Arborvitae is a slender columnar evergreen that stands out from the rest. It’s extreme soft foliage makes it seem as if you could easily give it a 5 minute long hug! This arborvitae loves to show off its professional aura whether that be a single focal point in front of the house, a solid screen to close off privacy, or with a collection of other evergreen trees! Fine Line Buckthorn is an excellent choice for a columnar plant within a decorative container. Their shape is softened by the dainty textured foliage that flows freely in light winds.  Instead of just one, add in another to flank both sides of your front door. Or create privacy screens or living walls to cover unwanted visual aspects by lining them a tight knit row. The possibilities are endless!  Armstrong Maple’s branches all uniquely grow towards the sky making it ideal for narrow planting. Being one of the taller specimens, the Armstrong Maple can show off its classic red leaves in the fall and stunning silver bark in the winter! It can even act and blend in with shade trees too! Flowering  Purple Pillar Rose of Sharon is a vertical accent like no other! It displays a long-lasting view of violet-pink soft petals that are streaked with ruby red centers.  This plant will grow tall and stay skinny while doing it, making it an ideal attention grabbing privacy screen for smaller areas! Fruiting Blushing Delight & Golden Treat Columnar Urban Apple Tree is the best of both worlds! Its columnar shape and full-sized apples cannot be beat in the garden.  Use it to decorate a patio, grow in a lovely container, or use as a small space backdrop to a victory garden! In no time, you’ll be enjoying fresh home-grown juicy apples.  How To Add In Columnar Trees  Landscape Design Tips  There is just something about the simplicity of a single narrow tree in a landscape that screams “Look at me!” If you’re the person who wants to add in a plant, but doesn’t want to overdo it, a spire-like columnar has your back.  This uncomplicated design tip can be anchored down within a planting bed, stand tall in a pot set aside the front door, or even provide the ideal contrast to a few wide-spread or rounded greenery.  Be the neighbor during the holiday season that bedazzles their Dwarf Alberta Spruce Spiral Topiary with twinkling ivory lights at their doorstep for a prime focal point on the block.  Even mix and match a few Sky Pencil Holly trees to thoughtfully frame a gate or doorway. Narrow upright trees with their crisp and clean outlines fit well into the more formal aspects of gardening.  This is exactly why columnars go well in patio plantings, landscape entryways, or around foundation beds.  Looking for more of a space saving tree line that envelops the meaning of elegant privacy? Small yards and structures can have that too!  A chain of these slim trees make an attractive boundary with the benefits of being brilliant windbreaks and notable noise buffers. We suggest several North Pole Arborvitae to attain a sophisticated screen! Proper Planting & Care Regular Columnar trees require the same amount of attention as any other tree once established in your landscape.  You’ll want to check the water intake throughout the first year. They prefer well-drained soil. If the area is dry, give it a nice long shower. But if the soil is already moist, check again the following day.  Pruning a select few of your narrow trees is a proper care tip 101. This not only makes the garden look snazzy, but it makes for a healthy plant. Others don’t require this as they do it for you! When planting and caring for columnar fruit trees, you’ll want to become a pro at the basics. Be sure to plant your edible delight in an area that receives full sun and has enough space to grow.  Fruit trees for small areas are only a few feet wide, so they make the perfect addition to your small garden. However, they don’t like very hot or very cold weather. Zones 4 through 8 are ideal! Once you’ve got the tree in the ground, it’s time to officially start the caring process! There should always be ample enough of water provided, but steer away from the soil being soggy or bone dry.  For a spectacular fruit-bearing harvest, add in fertilizer to encourage growth throughout the season.  Ready to nose-dive into the craze of Columnar trees? We know we are!  Happy planting from Nature Hills!

Spooky Jack-O-Lanterns, a cup of fresh hot apple cider, and a few fuzzy scarves are all signs that the fall season has officially arrived in your neighborhood. But the most admired favorites are the burnt orange, light brown, and velvet red foliages that engulf the crisp fall leaves.  Whether it was raking up a pile of leaves just to cannon ball into them or hearing the soft crunch underneath your shoes when trick-or-treating, the fall colored trees have had your back with providing fond memories of the leaves slowly changing.  Fully embrace the fall season by keeping the tradition of a calming, colorful landscape alive in your own backyard. Plant a tree here and there to admire the elegant hues we have all grown up to love.  Our Trees Are (Fall)ing For You Knowing Your Fall Colors If you’re the person who enjoys a Halloween and fall season that is packed full of oranges and yellows, then you’ll want to pick trees that compliment your wishes! Vibrant colors are a must have in tree foliage, we know. Orange and yellow lovers will want to show off a Paper Birch, Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry, or a Ginkgo Tree in their landscape!  A Paper Birch Tree’s cream white bark is off set with the pop of golden hues overtaking the once green leaves, which is why it’s prized for ornamental features. Definitely makes you want a pumpkin spiced latte in your hands at all times Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry has a spectacular blend of orange and red that is displayed over a long period of time, leading to a full season of vibrant foliage. Not to mention, a few carved pumpkins at the base create the ideal fall feel.  Ginkgo trees are the ones you overly fascinate about every year when the wind edges more towards brisk. Their showy display of saturated yellow leaves eventually make their way to the ground, leaving your yard with a fresh new blanket overnight.  For those of you who admire the reds and purples when driving through a thick forest, your love for darker hues brings you to a Bald Cypress, Red Maple, and Purple Pony Plum. The cinnamon red shade of a Bald Cypress is hard to beat and goes great with a couple of warm apple donuts softly coated in cinnamon. This tree loves to be the center of attention when fall comes around!  One large Red Maple produces piles upon piles of scarlet leaves to jump into day after day! Enjoy illuminating this tree with the spookiest Halloween decorations you can find.  Bring in a dark shade of purple to the fall season party with a Purple Pony Plum Tree in your backyard. Since it’s color actually never fades, this showstopper will have you wishing for a caramel apple in the middle of June! The Best Fall Colored Trees For Your Region Thanks to the New England maple forests, the Northeast is covered with various shades of red. It is only right that if you live here, you take part in the fun and plant some of your own crimson hues! Maples are the fan favorite for when it comes to showing off cardinal tones. Sugar Maples are known for their orange and red shades and the ability to produce sweet tasting syrup. It’s almost as if hundreds of bright candy apples are growing upon its limbs!  October Glory and Red Sunset Maples separate themselves from the crowd by producing deep red leaves. Both of these are reliable performers even in mild climates.  On the complete opposite end, the Northwest, are hundreds of Evergreens that produce a cool blue-green color to prepare you for the Christmas season.  If you live here, Colorado Spruces hold the top slot for ornamental trees. It’s a classic evergreen who takes pride in its year round color. A Norway Spruce supplies a unique green to a landscape, with the special addition of pinecones! The Upper Midwest is a lover of Aspens and Birch Trees! Quaking Aspens tower above its fellow tree friends, which catches the eyes of all those passing by. The vibrant clear yellow makes the heart-shaped leaves ten times better.  After looking at a River Birch, you’ll want to settle down with a bag of buttery yellow popcorn while watching Hocus Pocus for the 3rd time this week. This ornamental tree completes the full autumn landscape you have been dreaming of.  Planting Trees 101 Benefits Of Planting Trees In The Fall Lots of individuals don’t realize that you can plant all the way up to the point where the ground freezes. In fact, it is almost better to plant in the fall rather than any other season in a year.  Trees, in particular, are deemed most successful when planted later in the year. The cooler temperatures and light rain allow for roots to be fully established. This is essential for allowing adjustment to extreme heat in the summer.  You may think that trees tend to struggle during the harsh winter months, but they actually go dormant. We like to call it hibernation, almost exactly like a bear!  During hibernation, trees slow down energy consumption, growth, and metabolism. This ensures that no extra care is needed, which keeps you nice and warm next to a lit fireplace.  Proper Care In a tree’s first year of life, it is extremely important to keep good care of it. Start by surrounding the tree with rings of mulch without piling it upon the trunk.  Trees quickly appreciate the benefits of the mulch maintaining even moisture and allowing for more root development late into the fall season! Also, don’t keep your tree bone dry directly after planting. Even if it’s chilly out, you’ll need to water it properly! Test out the soil with your finger to see if it’s moist. If not, your tree is kindly  telling you that it needs some water.  So be prepared for the next fall season with adding in a couple of trees to your landscape! Not only will new piles of leaves to jump in build up, but excellently carved pumpkins will be easily sheltered on Halloween night. Admire your new fall foliage view from the comfort of your own home while sipping on a morning hot coffee in a snuggly cream-colored cardigan. Happy planting!

For centuries before cities and suburbs began to develop, trees and other plants had been supporting local ecosystems’ key wildlife in many different ways. Be it shelter, a meal or even just some shade on a hot day, the abundance of plants on this green Earth of ours kept the circle of life rolling. In modern cities and towns, however, it can be difficult for modern birds to find these sources of food and shelter like they could decades prior. This usually leads to a lack of certain species of birds in an area, or even very sparse populations of these species in general. We here at Nature Hills can help bring back the birds to your backyard! Birdwatchers and nature enthusiasts alike need only to browse our stock to find an assortment of trees and other plants that look amazing while also supporting your local avian wildlife. Qualities to Support the Ecosystem For plants to be able to support a bird’s survival needs they need to have a few key properties. These can be summed up in 3 parts: can this plant feed these birds, can it feed them all year round, and can they use this plant as shelter? First, food; attracting birds is a good starting goal, but to keep your local feathered friends in the neighborhood it’s important to keep them well fed! Later in this article we will explore all the unexpected ways plants can provide food for birds.Next, how long is this food going to last? Since not all non-migratory birds are predators, keeping your local birds healthy and fed through the winter is something to keep in mind in colder parts of the country. Finally, shelter. If they decide to stick around, these beautiful birdies will need a place to spend the night. Make sure to grow plants that provide adequate bird friendly shelter so they can settle down during the warmer months (if you’re lucky, they may even start a family before your very eyes!) Importance of Native Plants While there are quite a few differences between the services flowers, trees and shrubs provide your local avifauna, it is important to make sure that you are planting flora native to your region. Foreign plants are attractive and usually hardy, but when introduced to a new environment it can affect food sources in the area. Particular insects have adapted over time to only subsist off of particular trees. In turn, local birds have learned to seek out these trees for particular six-legged snacks. Plants native to your area also have an all-around better chance of survival due to their natural adaptation to the environment. Better survivability means less maintenance for you and more reliable food and shelter for the area’s birds! Nature Hills Nursery already has more information about native plants ready for you! Read more about the importance of and how to use native plants in your landscape in this article! Fruit, Seeds and Protein The most common sources of food for birds are the naturally occurring reproductive sources these flora produce in part for birds! Berries, fruit and seeds are all excellent meals for local fliers, and some of these plants will be able to grow anew when the bird is… well, “finished” with its meal. One thing to keep in mind is that while certain plants won’t produce food throughout the year that doesn’t mean they won’t help a hungry bird find a meal. Sometimes plants being able to support other, smaller wildlife is enough! Certain trees, such as Oak trees, do a great job of supporting a wide variety of an ecosystem’s smaller wildlife such as caterpillars and other grub like insects. Birds love their insect protein, and in turn, will flock to these trees in search of a wiggly meal to bring home to the kids. Copious nectar attracts hummingbirds without the need for an expensive feeder as well! Plants and trees whose flowers bear nectar are sure to feed dozens and dozens of hummingbirds over their lifetimes. Examples of Native Plants Due to the vast plant variety of the United States, the term “native” can mean both native to the country and native to a particular area of the country. Due to this discrepancy, we recommend that interested growers do some research to find varieties of plants native to their immediate area for the best results. Our stock does include many plants native to a majority of the United States, however! Here are just a few of the examples of widely native trees, shrubs and flowers available on our online store: Purple Coneflower: (Echinacea purpurea) A two-for-one special for any eating birds, the Purple Coneflower is a widespread plains native. Hardy and drought tolerant, this flower provides both tasty seeds birds love and attracts a wide variety of bugs for an avian’s protein needs. Great Blue Lobelia: (Lobelia siphilitica) A late-blooming cousin of the Cardinal Flower, the Great Blue Lobelia bears dense blue spikes of flowers. Full of nectar, the long-lasting droops of flowers make for a great treat to local hummingbirds. Gatsby Pink Oakleaf Hydrangea: (Hydrangea quercifolia Gatsby Pink®) A flowering shrub with dense clusters of white pink flowers, the Gatsby Pink Oakleaf Hydrangea’s thick foliage provides great shelter to birds. The seeds of the plant’s blooms also provide food as the summer closes. Red Sprite Holly: (Ilex verticillata) The compact deciduous shrub Red Sprite Holly provides not only several seasons of interest but several seasons of meals as well! Its red berries grow in the fall and last well into winter, but it is important to note this female plant needs a male partner to bear fruit at all. Nordic Inkberry: (Ilex glabra 'Chamzin') Nordic Inkberry shrubs are a cousin of the holly plant with similar qualities of long-lasting berries. This makes for a great source of food in winter when the bugs lose their prominence. Oak Trees: (Quercus L.) A medium to large sized tree, Oak trees provide many advantages to a bird’s survival. From a place to nest to a source of food in the way of seeds and insects, Oak trees native to your region make for a great contribution to the local avian ecosystem. Nature Hills Nursery has a wider variety of plants available for your avian supporting needs available from our store. Feel free to check our store again after some research of what plants are native to your region! Growing plants to help your local ecosystem is admirable and fulfilling. We applaud anyone attempting these growing pursuits and wish you the best of luck! Happy Gardening!

But First, The Basics We get it, you’re excited! We are too. However, if this is your first time testing out the gardening waters, let’s not dive straight in to breaking ground. It is important to consider sizing, location, and the soil. Fruit and vegetable gardens can be tough to manage, so we recommend starting the size out small with a few plants here and there. Smaller areas are easier to manage and maintain compared to a large overfilling garden. Don’t worry, you can still flex your gardening skills without feeling like it has become a chore. And once you have had a season or two of experience, feel free to broaden your gardening horizons. Deciding location is one of the most essential considerations as several edible ornamental plants need a lot of sunlight throughout the day. Plants like to eat too!  If your location is either full sun or partial shade, you will need to cater your garden plants to fit that area.  Lastly, the soil needs to be fresh and full of nutrients in order to receive a good crop. Compost, mulch, and other soil amendments can help with keeping it that way.  Knowing the soil fertility is a good idea to start and you might want to check with your local extension office to see if they do soil testing (usually a nominal fee). Our Favorite Edible Gardening Designs Raised Beds The most obvious form of edible gardening is conducted by having raised beds. They help correct several of the most cliche garden mistakes such as poor soil, overgrown weeds, and even uneven slopes.  While the classic raised beds have wooden borders, they can actually be made out of any garden safe material to match your wanted outdoor decor! They remind us of mini kitchen gardens.  If you are looking for more than enough crop each season for your fruits and vegetables, garden beds allow you to easily monitor the soil that is rich in nutrients.  Additionally, you’ll never need to step on the soil, so the roots will continue to thrive. Soil compaction is one of the biggest problems with home gardening. A few tips for success that we suggest is to size them properly, so that you don’t have to strain yourself to reach every plant. And be sure to pick a location with lots of sun that is sheltered from strong winds.  You’ll want to fill them with quality soil as well to ensure that you get the most out of your gardening experience. Last but certainly not least, get inspired with your raised beds to create a truly unique experience! Garden Delicious Apple (Malus pumila 'Garden Delicious') trees are natural dwarfs allowing them to be grown in larger raised beds where you can easily pick a couple or more of those crisp, sweet, apples. Oh and you’ll love their beautiful spring blossoms! Fruit Bushes are a hit when it comes to raised beds whether it is blackberries, blueberries, or raspberries! They each make a sweet snack when you snag a couple. Plus, you don’t have to break your back when bending over to pick berries! Garden Trellis For your vining fruits and vegetables, as well as added spice to your garden, feel free to add in a trellis or two. It is no question that they will be the focal point of the garden! Your trellis can be as high or as low as you wish; they can be homemade or bought from the store too. Any size, shape, color, and design can be picked out to fit your style. Just make sure that the tops are reinforced to ensure they don’t tend to bow in.  Our favorite aspect of this edible gardening design tip is you can enjoy a good book under the shade supplied by your tunnels while being entertained by hummingbirds and butterflies!  Even more so, a garden trellis can be appreciated in either the front yard or space in the backyard. Containers A variety of edible plants can easily grow in all types of containers, which adds to any outdoor plant design! Not to mention, they make it easy to save space in gardens, on patios, and elsewhere.  If you’re new to planting in containers, a quick tip for success is to pick the correct plant varieties and keep quality sized containers. You’ll want to use high quality soil, compost, and mulch! Wondering which plants give you the best shot at large crops? We have provided a few choices right here in this blog! Sunshine Blue Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum 'Sunshine Blue') is round and compact making it the ideal choice for a container fruit! Since it needs a higher pH soil, the container makes it simple to control the quality of the soil. This self-fruiting blueberry even provides a healthy breakfast choice during season.  Both our Dwarf Meyer Lemon (Citrus limon 'Meyer Improved') and Pix Zee Peach (Prunus persica 'Pix Zee') trees can be grown in larger containers for an edible ornamental in your landscape! Enjoy sweet tasting fruit in a pretty pot sitting right outside on your patio, balcony, or porch.  More Edible Gardening Favorites The Double Delight Nectarine (Prunus persica var.nucipersica 'Double Delight') is very popular in home gardens for its richly flavored nectarines and year round attractive foliage. It loves to be in the sun and is a lovely backdrop for the landscape! Red Baron Peach (Prunus 'Red Baron') is both ornamental and self fruitful, making it one of the best edible trees to have in a landscape. This tree doesn’t fret when you give it a small trim either!  Lapins Cherry (Prunus avium 'Lapins') produces some of the largest and juiciest sweet tasting cherries, which is exactly why it should be included in an edible garden. This tree is self fruitful and can be pruned to be any size you wish! The Warren Pear (Pyrus 'Warren') is a semi-dwarf tree that is able to grow pears where it is normally hard to do so. Since it is medium sized, this tree works wonderfully inside containers.  The York Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis 'York') produces one of the largest berries that is perfect for both feeding birds and your family! It can also double as a flowering privacy screen in any landscape. Enjoy its large harvests within the edible garden.  Regent Saskatoon Serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia 'Regent') is a native shrub that loves to produce delicious berries and grow attractive Spring flowers! It will even attract pollinators to your garden too.  Edible gardening continues to be wildly popular and working edibles into the landscape is still all the rage these days. Join the trend and start building the garden of your most wonderful dreams!

Extra extra! Read all about the hottest, newest varieties of blueberries here at Nature Hills.  Before you elect to decide that these small blue bundles of joy aren’t your forte, read below and don’t miss a beat in your fruit garden! Wait, There Is More Than One Type Of Blueberry? Yes! In fact, there are about 5 types that hold the status of most common in the fruit world. Those include Lowbush, Northern Highbush, Southern Highbush, Rabbiteye, and Half-High! So now your question is most likely along the lines of  “Which type do I want?” No need to fret, we’ve got it lined out simple for you.  Lowbush The Lowbush variety is basically the cousin at family gatherings that no one knows the name of or how they are related to you. But when you get to know them, they are delightful! Many of this variety is grown wild instead of in gardens; however, that doesn’t mean it can’t grow in yours. They love the cold, acid soil, and sandy grounds. This makes them a tad bit high maintenance.  Their candy-sweet, intense blueberry flavor makes it all worth it in the end! Lowbushes are excellent choices for baking, eating, and freezing. Even enjoy dried blueberries.  Northern Highbush These blueberry varieties are native to the northeastern and eastern areas of the United States. You may have seen these around as they are the most popular in several areas for home and commercial gardening. They can be a little high maintenance as they do require the most consistent pruning compared to the others. But don’t let that scare you away!  They take joy in producing dark indigo fruit that gushes with a sweet fulfilling taste that has a hint of tanginess to it. This taste is unique when baking and cooking! The Cabernet Splash (Vaccinium corymbosum ‘VacBri1') is an award winning Northern Highbush for its four-season interest and ornamental, but edible stature.  Be sure to plant it next to another Northern Highbush like the Pink Icing Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum 'ZF06-079)' for double the fun and double the fruit as they are self-pollinating.  Or even appreciate this blueberry bush in a container where you can casually pick a berry or two for an afternoon snack! Interested in learning how? Check out our blog on growing blueberries in containers. Southern Highbush This variety is a combination of the Northern Highbush and the Rabbiteye, giving it extreme fruit quality as well as the ability to withstand heat and winters.  Usually the Southern Highbush is grown in the middle, lower, and coastal South of the United States. These areas love the burst of sweet flavor that these berries bring! Rabbiteye Wildly popular in the Southern parts of the United States, Rabbiteye varieties are known for their super power of not attracting any major pests upon them and producing an abundance of berries. This extraordinary plant requires the proper soil. For solid growth, the pH of the soil needs to be between 4.0 and 5.0 and no higher or lower. However, they don’t require loads of pruning, so enjoy it! A quick tip from one gardener to another, leave these blueberries on the bush until they are fully ripened or you will be tasting bitter fruit.  Bless Your Heart (Vaccinium ashei ‘Alapaha’) and its partner Takes The Cake (Vaccinium ashei ‘Vernon’) are the powerhouses of Rabbiteye varieties because of their ability to sustain heat.  They taste delicious in early morning blueberry pancakes, a quick fruit salad snack, or even straight off the bush itself! Not to mention their ability to provide a modern ornamental look to a garden as well. Half-High This variety is a cross between highbush and lowbush, so they often get called the ‘natural hybrid’ of blueberries. Its intermediate height sets it apart from the rest; however, it still loves to grow in the same areas as its makers.  They are self-fruitful, but fancy having a friend by their side to encourage them to grow a surplus of yields! If you have the space, why not add to the blueberry production party? The best of the Half-High is our Perpetua Bush (Vaccinium x “ORUS-61-1’) as it is ornamental, but also produces not one, but TWO yields of fruit a year. Talk about a bonus! Be ready to enjoy sweet tasting berries in the Summer and Fall. So go ahead, bake that extra blueberry pie, you’ve got plenty of fruit to satisfy your sweet tooth.  Blueberry Glaze (Vaccinium x ‘ZF08-095’) would look impeccable next to the Perpetua with its fragrant, white flowers and deep blue fruits. These two are like peas in a pod!  The Health Benefits You Can Gain It’s no secret that fruits are very beneficial for a healthy body and mind. Isn’t that what our parents always lectured about when we refused to eat them as kids? All fruits have their own specialties, but blueberries are the reigning champs as one of the healthiest foods on Earth. They have a little bit of everything packed into them. From merely eating a bowl of blueberries, you’ll benefit from the following:  They are low in calories, but high in nutrients. With fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin K,  Manganese, and more stuffed into one petitie fruit, blueberries are extremely healthy.  Believed to have among one of the highest levels of antioxidant capacities, blueberries are labeled the ‘King.’ This helps protect your body against free radicals like chronic diseases and aging.  They have the ability to lower blood pressure, which limits the risk of heart diseases. Blueberries also help improve memory and brain functions that are essential for intelligence.  What To Do If You Can’t Eat All Your Blueberries With the above bushes, you’ll have fruit coming out of your nose in no time! So what happens when you pick too many berries and don’t have the appetite to eat them all? Have no fear, there are multiple ways that you can savor your blueberries to give you more time to prepare for another round.  Popping your batch into an airtight container after a proper wash and complete dry, is an option for keeping them fresh for about a week. Be sure to place them in a spot within the fridge that is circulated well with air.  Need something that is going to last a little longer than a week? Freezing them is a second option for you. We recommend spreading your berries out on a baking sheet to firm up in the freezer for a couple of hours.  After that, feel free to transfer them into a container or plastic bag that fits well into the freezer! They will last for a few months.  Not a fan of refrigerating or freezing? You’re in luck! Canning is a prime way to store a few blueberries here and there. They are one of the easiest to can as well.  It’s your choice to can the berries in syrup, honey, or even just water. Maybe you have a homestyle canning remedy that fits perfectly to this situation. Try it out! Syrup canning is normally prepared for cobblers and pies, whereas water canning is preparing for muffins, pancakes, and more.  So the next time you take a look at the abundance of blueberries growing on your bush, don’t have a panic attack! They can last you for months at a time with the proper method.  Choose your favorite, grow them all, mix and match! Whichever fuels your inner gardener! In no time, you will be enjoying some of the best berries on the market. Happy Planting!