Elderberry Is Blooming All Around Larry Moore Park

 

Elderberry at Larry Moore Park, © Barbara Radisavljevic

I finally got a chance to walk in Larry Moore Park yesterday. I discovered elderberry was blooming almost everywhere I looked. (Please click photos to enlarge photos). 

Elderberry near Beginning of Trail at Larry Moore Park, © Barbara Radisavljevic

This is near the memorial tree I discovered a year ago on another walk. Both that tree and this elderberry tree have grown larger since then. You can see the difference if you look back at that post and at this one on Medium.

Elderberry on the Other Side of Trail at Larry Moore Park, © Barbara Radisavljevic

As I've discovered on my Paso Robles property, elderberry grows like a weed. The birds eat the berries and spread the seeds. That must be how my own tree got started. 

There used to be an elderberry marking the junction of this trail and the one leading westward to the river. It was still there last time I walked the park, but it was gone yesterday. Here's where it used to be. You probably won't notice the tree below because that photo was taken in January when the branches are bare. This year they've been cutting a lot of trees from this area. The tree they removed may have been the mother of many of these other trees. 

Elderberry Removed This Year at Larry Moore Park, © Barbara Radisavljevic

Below you can get a closer look at the elderberry flowers and some baby berries.                    

Close-up of Elderberry in Bloom at Larry Moore Park, © Barbara Radisavljevic

Below is an expanded view of the scene in the first photo. I have shown you just some of the trees I found on limited parts of intersecting trails near the north end of Larry Moore Park. If I'd shared photos of all the elderberry trees in bloom at the park right now, this post would fill several more screens. 

I wonder who will eat all those berries when they get ripe? Do you think the birds will be able to handle it? Or do you think the homeless who camp in the riverbed below will have a handy medicinal food source if they can can cook the berries. They are toxic if eaten raw.

Elderberries in Bloom at Larry Moore Park, © Barbara Radisavljevic

Learn more about elderberries here.