Hips and Haws!

Plants do not predict weather, but they respond to weather patterns and some of these can be the start of a longer cycle usually connected with a certain pattern of winter weather.

Plant responses to underlying weather patterns can be indicative of what the winter could be.

Not a sign of what is to come but what has been, warm, wet weather.

I gave Delrosa to all 3 of my babies and they were born in late 6o's and early 70's.

I make Rose hip syrup every year, I have a row of bushes along the front garden for that very purpose, though the roses are pretty too. Have to wait a while yet for a frost, if I get impatient I pick them and freeze them for a few hours, not so good though. The blackberries have been lovely this year and I have plenty of bramble jelly and jam for the coming year. I love this time of year harvesting all the wonderful fruit and preserving for the coming months. My mum taught me, I don't think you can beat home made jams and pickles.

Rosehip syrup. I remember that as a child as it was gorgeous. Mum used to get it from a clinic in the 50's/60's for us children along with bottles of orange juice. I think that they were both meant to boost a childs vitamin intake. I didn't know or even care as I loved them both?.
Happy Days.

Read somewhere that plants can't predict weather, so prolific berries are due to what weather we've already had. God, I used to love Delarosa, I can remember the delicious taste even as I'm typing!

Like oldgoat I have been gathering blackberries, greengages and bullaces What I have noticed this Autumn, as well as the super abundance of fruits, is how early everything has been.

In my area the blackberry season starts slowly in late July/early August, is in full swing late August - late September and peters out in early October. This year it started suddenly and full pace in early August and by early September was over. It was the same with sloes, damsons, greengages and bullaces, Rather like this year's Autumn that started in mid-August.

Rose hips are a rich source of Vitamin C. This is why they were collected so assiduously and made into Rosehip syrup during WW2 and afterwards.

It's not a sign of a bad winter at all. It's simply a sign that it's been a good summer for hips sand haws.

Lots of berries here in the West Midlands, too. I don't know what it means but the birds seem to be enjoying themselves.

I used to believe this, but a few years ago my Rowan tree was covered with berries and then we had a really mild winter so now I'm not sure.

I've noticed the great amount of hips and haws too, and my one cat has already grown a very thick winter coat of fur. The last time that happened, admittedly with another cat, we had a snow before Christmas and frost and snow nearly until the end of March.

The berries are a sign of mild weather in Spring when the trees were in flower. That meant the pollinating insects could do their job. A real winter would make a nice change.

The last "hard winter" I can remember was 1983 when I lived in Yorkshire. I was at school during the winter of '62/'63, we were snowed in, no school for 2 weeks.

I remember ice on the inside of the windows, joy of days before central heating.

Can't say I've noticed lots more berries this year.

I am in agreement with most 'old wives tales' in general, but it seems logical to me that the production of berries & fruits bears more relevance to the previous summer's weather.

All Winters are cold as far as I'm concerned, berries or no berries but I have heard that theory over the years and there often tends to be substance in these 'old wives' tales'. I will now delve deeper into this one. Good old google!

That's just one of many signs which make me think also that a hard winter is in prospect. Probably heavy snow in the south with some places cut off. But that would kill off a lot of bugs and bacteria so not all bad.

Old wives tale. At present we have so many seasons in one day...we really don't know what will happen tomorrow, let alone the forthcoming winter season!

My cottoneaster was laden last year and it was a mild winter.

Some lovely posts bringing back memories of being with my mother.
We used go fruit picking in the countryside (now sprawling suburbs) and in land owned by a jam company who stopped producing. Later at home we'd pick through and make jam. I remember sore fingers after.

My favourite was crab apple jelly.

Hawthorne and holly berries too I think were a sign of a tough winter. Since moving to London years ago I have not experienced anything like a really bad winter. Short bitter spells yes but nothing to remark on.

Phoenix Cold spell ?I wish.Here in Cornwall we have had for the last three winters rain, more rain and humid.
Now we are getting wet summers .I sympathise with the holiday makers My garden resembles an amazon rainforest very lush and the hedgerows are loaded with blackberries.
Your abundance of hips and haws is due to the amount of wet weather. Nothing like water to spur growth.

Delrosa............mmmmmm, a quick swig of the Delrosa kept me going over the twin tub in the bleakest of winters, we had no heating back then. I had fabulous complexion all that steam and vitamins.

I don't understand the modern meaning of hard winter, I can't think that we have had a bad one for years now. We used to have dreadful, freezing fogs for days at a time and ice indoors.

Rose hips are full of Vitamin C which prevents scurvy. Scurvy + loss of teeth. Just been reading about that in 'Outlander'!

In wartime it was necessary to rely on our own resources rather than imported fruit.

I too think that we will have a bad winter, here in mid Norfolk lots of berries have been about for a few weeks now

I see that some people suggest using glycerine and water, to dry pampas.

Wish I had somewhere to hang things, although thinking about it, I appropriate a bit of space at work!

My boss has already said I can spray my champagne and cava corks in the barn, providing I protect the floor