Gardening Tips and Advice from Aberglasney

Mr Graham Rankin, Director of Operations at Aberglasney Gardens, has many years of horticultural experience and has written a book on Magnolias.

Here he gives regular weekly tips and advice to gardeners to help you to achieve the stunning results achieved at Aberglasney by Graham and his team of dedicated gardeners.

The Flavoursome Blueberry

As a youngster I recall spending hours picking our native British bilberries which are small and not particularly numerous on the bushes, but have a distinctive sweet nutty flavour and according to scientists they have the highest levels of nutrition.

The closely related Blueberry is certainly the “in plant” to grow, with numerous articles appearing in the press about their health benefits. They are one of the richest sources of antioxidants of any fruit or vegetable. Antioxidants are responsible in part for keeping us healthily. Apparently they help fight cell damaging "free radicals" by the antioxidants, which are contained in the Blueberries which help to slow the ageing process and reduce the risk of cancer.

That might be one reason to grow them, but to be honest I would grow them because I really like the taste of them. It is when they are really plump and a deep indigo blue they are sweet and ready to eat.

They are actually in the same family as rhododendrons and heathers and require the same acidic soil levels to grow them, which is good news for those of us who live in Wales.

Given the right soil conditions their cultivation is remarkably easy, although pigeons are known to devour the fruit.