Almost everyone calls her Anna Banana, but Anna Blueberry might be more accurate.
Anna’s undecided about bananas. She’ll eat them, but it has to be the right banana (ripe, but not too ripe), and the circumstances have to be just so (she has to be hungry, I have to be holding her, and the banana has to be half-peeled, never cut up).
But her mind is made up about blueberries.
(Other more-accurate nicknames would be Anna Scrambled Eggs, Anna Sunshine, Anna Throwing Water Bottles, Anna Whatever-Her-Brother-Is-Playing-With.)
Wegman’s has jumbo blueberries, and I buy them for my husband as they make a great finger snack. I like them raw, but I’m not a fan of pie, muffins, or anything where they are in anyway cooked, including the syrup.
You should try planting blueberry and raspberry bushes at the back of the yard. We had a creek that wound through our property, and my father had berry bushes planted along the banks. My mother would freeze them, for blueberry muffins and pies throughout the year. It takes the blueberry bushes a year or so to really come into bloom, but the raspberry ones just take off. You’ll be offering plants to all of your friends, and possibly be starting a farmstand out front, which isn’t a bad thing. They grow FAST. You can then claim a farm deduction on your property. You only need to sell $1500 of produce! I just like the ability to control the taste through fertilizer and other soil enhancements to make sure you have sweet berries, not bitter.
You might also think about mints. At our last home, I planted lemon mint, pineapple mint, green apple mint, and pineapple mint. If someone was coming for a BBQ, we’d mow the lawn. I let the mint grow a bit into the yard, The smell after mowing was wonderful. It also makes a great potpourri in some hot water, and a few sprigs are great in the garbage disposal. My favorite is chocolate mint, which has a creme de mint, or Andes candy, smell. It also takes care of weeds if you let it get a good start.
Blueberry bushes can be expensive, but add a bush or two a year along your back border. I wouldn’t buy more than two, each, of raspberry, blackberry, or black raspberry bushes. They grow very fast, and you’ll be begging friends and family to take sprouts.
And, don’t laugh, but have you thought about grapes and your pool fence? I did it with my inlaws chain link fence at the back of their yard. It looked great. as it filled in.