That’s really cool, and now you’ve given me new ideas!
Hey, on the elderberries, are there certain varieties that are good or bad? Are any poisonous? My next door neighbor has elderberry bushes in her backyard that encroach into mine. She can’t see them at all from her vantage point, but I do. They have pretty lacy blossoms that should be here in a few weeks, then the berries come. I don’t know much about them, but I should learn.
She can’t really get to them from her yard. There’s a bunch of wild stuff growing on her side that makes it hard to get to. Since it has a pretty blossom, we put up with it. It does keep popping up in the bed that we have near the property line. Hard to control in there.
Do not eat raw elderberries, but cooked/dried are OK. Here are 2 articles:
Elderflower and Elderberries: How to find and use
https://www.wildedible.com/wild-food-guide/elderberry
You can get domestic varieties:
7 TOP ELDERBERRY VARIETIES TO GROW IN YOUR BACKYARD
https://gardenerspath.com/plants/fruit/best-elderberry-varieties/
I bought a bag of dried elderberries on Amazon. They were organic. When I opened the box, the smell was really strong - sort of an earthy, fruity odor. The berries have been great for making tea - haven’t tried a tincture yet.
I got some sort of bug when my dad was in the hospital (December/January). We both had the same cough which was a pretty bad cough, but it was not covid (the hospital tested). Anyway, it lasted about a month and I lost my voice as well. When my daily shift at the hospital was over and I came home, I would make myself a cup of elderberry tea with some honey and it was as if my body was absolutely craving it. I ran through my friend’s elderberries and went to Amazon to buy some more. Between the elderberry tea and a homeopathic remedy for cough called PULS (pulsatilla nigricons), I finally got rid of the cough/hoarseness. The Elderberry and PULS worked better than commercial cough syrup which I only took once (I was desperate and it was not a good experience).
I believe Ellendra has/grows elderberries.