Much hated throughout most of the year, but much-loved in August when the delicious berries ripen. This is a Class C noxious weed in King County, which means it is not selected for control because there is no way to control it now, it’s already EVERYWHERE.

This was an important plant from my childhood. My siblings and I would harvest berries every summer, creating scaffolds to reach inside the huge bramble thickets in the field behind our back yard. We even had names for the particularly large, sweet berries we came across once in awhile–we called them Plumpa Plumpas.

I have tried to grow domesticated blackberries and almost gotten none of them. Either they never ripen, get bugs, or the birds get them before I do. I finally gave up and just cultivated one Himalayan blackberry plant in a raised bed on the south side of our property. Now I get hundreds of blackberries every year!

I have some guilt given the fact that this is a noxious weed that is causing disaster with native plants and ecosystems across the world. The County recommends control in wilderness areas and natural lands being restored with native plants. Since we don’t have any of those in close proximity, I’m going to enjoy my guilty berry pleasures for a few more years.

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This plant has to be pruned and tied to keep it in bounds, so I’ll stay on top of that in the future. I’m working on harvesting enough berries to make a pie this year, which would be my first blackberry pie.