BRAMBLEBERRIES

Brambleberries - otherwise known as Sylvanberries - are our main crop. Over the years these have found their way into some of Melbourne’s top hotels and restaurants.

Bred in Australia and released in 1984, these berries are a cross between a Marionberry and a seedling cross of the Pacific Blackberry and a Boysenberry.

Brambleberries are large in size, glossy dark purple or dark red, gaining in sweetness as the season progresses.

The bushes are very thorny, but it is worth fighting the prickles to pick these delicious berries which have a much more intense flavour than the Thornless Blackberry which is more commonly grown.

WALDOBERRIES

Another hybrid – a cross between a Marionberry and another berry – this variety was released in Oregon (USA) in 1989. 

Waldoberries are a medium - large berry which grows in clusters, resulting in a variety of berry shapes from long cone-shaped fruit to smaller round berries.  Because of their uneven size and shape, Waldoberries are not sold in supermarkets.

However, in spite of their odd shapes, these berries are one of the sweetest berries  around with a flavour reminiscent of a berry fruit gum lolly.

BOYSENBERRIES

This variety has been around for a long time, having been bred in California in the 1920’s – a cross between a Loganberry and a Red Raspberry.  They were officially sold as Boysenberries in 1935.

It is no wonder that some of our customers have childhood memories of eating Boysenberries.

The fruit is large with bigger cells and larger seeds than other berries.It has a soft, thin skin texture and is a dusty purple colour.

TAYBERRIES

This delicious berry was named after the River Tay in Scotland when it was patented in 1979. Like the Loganberry it is a Blackberry/Red Raspberry hybrid but bears little resemblance in colour, shape or flavour to the Loganberry.

The Tayberry is sweeter, much larger and more aromatic than the Loganberry.  While it can be left to ripen to a dark red colour, we believe it has a much more distinctive taste when it is red at the time of picking. It is less acidic than the Loganberry

Tayberries are a marvellous combination of their parent berries, with the size and colour of a large Raspberry and the sweetness and juiciness of a Blackberry.

LOGANBERRIES

Another berry that has been around for a long time, the Loganberry is believed to have been the result of a natural (accidental)cross between an American Blackberry and a Raspberry in California in the 1880’s.

Loganberries are juicy and can be sharper in flavour than a Boysenberry or Brambleberry, especially early in the season.

Although they are supposed to be ripe when dark red, we prefer to let them ripen until they are nearly black for a much-improved flavour.

MARIONBERRIES

These dark berries were created in Oregon (USA) in the 1950’s. They are a great favourite along the Pacific Coast of the US.

Of all the varieties of berries which we grow, these are probably the closest in flavour and appearance to a wild blackberry.

At first you taste the tartness of a traditional blackberry, but the flavour that emerges is dark and sweet. Marionberries seem to be larger and juicier than wild blackberries.