George, the dog, did a lot of damage to the Baba patch back in January and for a long time the patch looked like it would have a hard time recovering. When the warm weather returned in late February and early March, the roots started to send up lots of new canes, even where George did some of the worst digging. Fortunately, there were enough 1 year old canes remaining that we are getting some Spring fruit already, not just flowers.

We are actually enjoying the first of our spring Baba Berries today. The first berries of the year always seem the sweetest. B and I picked a small bowl full today and we will have them for dessert tonight. We did have to sample some as we picked, so not everything made it in the bowl for the rest of the family. Oops. A bunch more look like they will be ready in the next week or so. The berries we picked today are from the lower part of last Spring’s canes. I cut off the top portion of the canes during winter where they produced fruit last summer and fall.

Recently, I have been trying my hand at root division propagation of the Baba Berries and many of the little 2 inch sections are showing signs of life in the cell packs. They won’t be ready for awhile. I do have about 8 more 4″ plants that are just regular plant divisions and are ready to sell. If you would like to buy a Baba plant, send me an email.  I really prefer local pick up.

In other Hanbury House gardening news, my neighbor across the street, K, has a huge crop this year on her Minnie Royal and Royal Lee low chill cherry trees. K was generous with her bounty and brought over some for me to enjoy today. They are delicious. And the birds don’t know that cherries can grow in Southern California, so she hasn’t lost any to them yet. She picks fruit each year, but this is the first year it has been this much before. All the extra winter chill we had probably didn’t hurt. I included some pictures of her trees today.