WEEKEND GARDEN BLOGGING

Blueberries are almost unbearably good for you—they’re one of the finest sources of antioxidants known to man (and beast.) That’s because anthocyanins, the phytochemicals that give blueberries their deep, beautiful purple-blue pigment, also do wonders for our bodies and brains, helping us fight heart disease, cancer, and aging, among other ills.

So most of us know that berries are one of the best—and tastiest—fruits we can eat. But nobody seems to realize that they’re also one of the easiest and most rewarding shrubs to grow. There’s even a dwarf variety called Tophat that’s so small you can grow it in a window box, and it’s self-pollinating, too, unlike most blueberries, which require a second variety for cross-pollination. We planted four different kinds, so they ripen a few at a time over the course of the summer, giving the birds—and sometimes us, if we’re lucky—a steady source of delicious berries.

Blueberries are a near-zero maintenance plant, and they’re ultra-ornamental; they give you something to look forward to three seasons out of four. In spring there are delicate little flowers that look like lilies of the valley, which turn into tasty berries in the summer, and then in fall the leaves go all autumnal.

Those weary rhododendrons and azaleas standing sentry in suburbia just make me sad--I say yank ‘em out and replace ‘em with blueberries. It’s a no-brainer, which people would realize if only they ate more brain cell-boosting blueberries.