Bilberry bushes

MeadowMaker

Restoring some meadows and currently cutting back gorse on old stone walls to expose some bilberry bushes

I read on these bilberry bushes and how in old times the berries were a prized berry and often were exported to France,

Does anyone know if the bushes on old hedgerows were planted or just came about naturally?

Danzy

MeadowMaker wrote: »

Restoring some meadows and currently cutting back gorse on old stone walls to expose some bilberry bushes

I read on these bilberry bushes and how in old times the berries were a prized berry and often were exported to France,

Does anyone know if the bushes on old hedgerows were planted or just came about naturally?

They are a native plant but grow in boggy ground I the wild.

If the ditch is good, they may well have been planted. I've never seen them outside the bog

Dinzee Conlee

Danzy wrote: »

They are a native plant but grow in boggy ground I the wild.

If the ditch is good, they may well have been planted. I've never seen them outside the bog

Funny, we would have them down here in ditches. I have never seen them anywhere else only ditches

Afraid I can’t say if they were planted or not. I have a feeling that weren’t planted though...

Freejin

Think we know them as Hurts around here. Would see them on ditches,never in bogs

Feisar

We had them along a drop beside a bog and by bog I mean an old disused bog that was only ever hand cut on. Used to mash them up with a bit of sugar and slather them all over my Granmother's soda bread. Jaysus that's taking me back.

Dinzee Conlee

Freejin wrote: »

Think we know them as Hurts around here. Would see them on ditches,never in bogs

ha, we used to call them hurts as well - where abouts are you, as a mater of interest?
I'm in Cork, wondering if they were called hurts elsewhere...

_Brian

We have them here locally on the bog on the mountain.
There was a hotel locally called The Bilberry and a festival on the Mountain.

Freejin

Dinzee Conlee wrote: »

ha, we used to call them hurts as well - where abouts are you, as a mater of interest?
I'm in Cork, wondering if they were called hurts elsewhere...

Cork as well!