Brambles

Are you putting on fruitful growth?

We have a lot of brambles round the edges of our new garden. It's a large space and it's going to take a while to get it all under control.

I have noticed something about brambles: there are some shoots that grow like the clappers, developing thick stems, stretching several feet, but with no flowers. They produce luxuriant foliage but no fruit. These are the stems I cut out.

There are other stems that are shorter, but end in a sprig of flowers. They will produce blackberries and therefore I am allowing them to stay until winter. I don't mind brambles if they will feed me.

There are areas in life where we have a growth spurt, and that growth ends up looking impressive, but not bearing fruit. Hard as it is, those stems need to go. They take energy but give nothing.