It is still dry and scorching in my garden. Even the enormous Hurricane Erin seems to be keeping the precipitation to herself. She is forecast to pass about 550 miles away from me, the further the better. Fall berries have been forming in the garden. I have been baking, watching the birds enjoy it and cut a few sprigs for my Monday vase.
Last week I had Beautyberries in my vase. Native Floridians tend to be the only people who really enjoy the fruit, using it in desserts and for jam and jelly. I have been told many times the berries don’t taste like much, so I finally nibbled a few. It’s true, an astringent, peppery flavor emerged when I tried it. Then I cooked some down to juice, added sugar and a very nice berry flavor emerged. Voila! Lemon Beautyberry cupcakes:
The berries in my vase this week are from the Gumbo Limbo tree (Bursera simaruba). These berries are best left for the birds, who love them. The numerous seedlings around my garden will attest to that.
Firebush (Hamelia patens) in orange tubular flowers and red and yellow “Lady Di” Heliconias (Heliconia psittacorum) round out the plant palette.
Visit Cathy’s blog RamblingintheGarden to see more late summer vases.
The Shrub Queen 
Striking combination and the Gumbo Limbo berries are cool. You get the award for bravery and daring for experimenting with the Beautyberries. The results look amazingly delicious. How many Beautyberries did the recipe call for?
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Thanks, Susie. It’s one of those things I wondered about for years, so I finally decided to have a taste. I used a cup of berries to make filling and drizzle. I will be happy to send you the recipe. The lemon cupcakes are good on their own.
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Thanks but I know I won’t get the cupcakes made. They look delicious and very pretty. Was curious how many berries you could collect at your house. A cup seems manageable! 😀
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I’m going to guess there were 4 or 5 cups on the plant. What’s odd is that when cooked the berries turn white. Question for you..do you know someone who could ID an Ikebana container?
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Fascinating, those berries. Sorry I don’t really have anyone in mind who could help with the container.
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Thanks. I have a feeling it is a cheap vase!
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Antiques Roadshow? 😀
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That’s a beautiful combination of berries, foliage, and blooms! I’ll have to keep that in mind for the Beautyberries–use them for baking! Your cupcakes look delicious! Would love to see the recipe. 🙂
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Thanks. I’ll be happy to send you the recipe. Oddly, AI created it for me and I did not quite realize it! But it worked out.
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Gumbo limbo sounds silly, but also like something from Florida. ‘Lady Di’ Heliconia psittacorum certainly blooms a lot for you. If min Heliconia psittacorum ever blooms for me here, I suspect that it will do so only once annually.
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Gumbo Limbo grows all over the Caribbean, I think its name comes from the islands. I am at the northern limit. The Heliconia flowers off and on all year, more during the summer.
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The lemon blueberry cupcakes look scrumptious!
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Thank you.
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Although a tropical looking vase, this doesn’t convey hot hot hot, so I guess there must be air con to give it its elegant unruffled appearance 😉It was really interesting to read about your berries – and the cupcakes!
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Oh, yes! Air con is necessary for appearances!!
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I did mean a hypothetical air con though!
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You can’t go wrong with Heliconias! I’m impressed you made what looks like a fabulous dessert from the beautyberries. I hope Erin spits a little (manageable) moisture your way.
https://krispgarden.blogspot.com/
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I love the name ‘Gumbo Limbo’, so fun to roll off the tongue. 🙂 Those cupcakes look yummy!
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The hurricane doesn’t seem to be sending rain, just storm surge. I have never tried to eat beauty berries and I am impressed with your cupcakes.
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The wind just kicked up here. It always amazes me how big these storms are. Beautyberries are a thing in Florida. I can’t remember knowing they were edible before. They need a lot of sugar to bring out the flavor. I cooked them in water with cardamom pods to extract the juice. The cooking made all the color come out of the berries.
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Yes, it was not purple. My daughter is at the Jersey Shore and they are closing beaches.
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Surf’s up!
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The cupcakes look delicious… I always imagined the berries tasting a bit artificial, simply because the colour reminds me of synthetic sweets (candy)! The berries in your vase are very modest and a reminder that the seasons are about to change.
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The berries have a sort of unidentifiable blueberry but not quite flavor – when cooked with sugar. I am ready for fall.
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Me too.
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