Thorny garden

I realized that I've become increasingly fond of thorny plants... my garden is turning into a thorny garden, and this summer a super extra thorny blackberry volunteered from the other side of the fence. As these plants have better chances to survive than, for example, lettuce, I decided to appreciate them more.
Firt of all, I needed good gloves. I was given "rose gloves" once, and while they weren't super thin, they probably got their name mainly because there were roses printed on them. Zero protection from sharp thorns. As usual with women's size gloves...
But I finally found a pair which has three layers, somewhat protects from the thorns and isn't too large...
While I keep collecting good gloves along with thorny plants, here is my current toplist of the plants:

Sea buckthorn - one of the first plants that actually survived in my garden. Thorns are big and long; sometimes I use them as "needles", to pin a material onto something. Leaves and fruits are edible. Tea made of leaves tastes great, fruits are disgusting but they can be mixed with other fruits in a jam.

Wild rose - also one of my first plants, which I'm trimming back now, as it regenerated the soil where nothing else wanted to grow. It has lots of tiny thorns, from which most gloves can protect, but they're rather annoying otherwise. Wild rose as a fence is not as brutal as sea buckthorn, but still most animals don't want to push through dense bushes. Fruits and flowers are edible and if you have endless patience, make oil from the seeds!

Ornamental roses - they're a different story of course, very associated with vintage ornamental gardens. I don't really want those but I have some, usually received as gifts. Some have extra brutal hooked thorns. I heard all varieties also have edible flowers (?). I also heard that they're beneficial if planted near grapes, but I'm not sure. Of course they smell and look great.

Blackberry - did you know there is a field of science (botany) dedicated to the study of blackberries? Actually, of Rubus, a diverse genus which includes blackberries, raspberries and dewberries. I'm not sure how it translates to English; according to Wikipedia, it's "batologia" in Polish, "Batologie" in German and in French. Leaves and fruits are edible and very healthy, and long branches can be turned into baskets after trimming the thorns.

Raspberry - the more popular and just as healthy variety of the above. There are many thornless varieties nowadays, but I'm not interested in those; they would be eaten or destroyed too fast by various critters, dogs, humans...
which brings me to the point: thorny plants are great at protecting themselves and other plants.
As I have plenty of them now, I started to think that interacting with these plants in the garden is a little bit like a meditation: it teaches you the "mindful presence", to be gentle around the thorns but still able to zone out like we all do while gardening.

I now remembered another spectacular plant: gleditsia (honey locust), which is a tree with huge thorns growing from branches and the trunk. I see them in various places in my city, probably because they tolerate urban conditions very well. They also fix nitrogen and gleditsia sinensis is one of the "50 fundamental herbs" used in Chinese medicine.

And here is a picture of my new raspberry, and the first snow!

I suppose it is logical that many plants we find pleasant to eat rely on thorns to protect themselves. Even some that we don't think of as thorny are pretty spiky when young - I'm thinking of plum family here mainly.
An unusual shrubs with spikes: kalopanax septemlobus (harikiri) has edible shoots. I'm hoping to try mine for the first time next year.

Edible Shoots

Berberis is another thorny fruiting shrub family - Most of them have wicked thorns that go straight into your skin and then break off. I had several in my previous house. I think the Berberis darwinii has thorny leaves but less thorny stems, a bit like an oregon grape.
The only one of the thistle family I've bothered growing for food is the globe artichoke. A bit fiddly, but excellent finger food for snacking. I'm trying to get more of this established, since it does seem to grow pretty well outside here. Initially I only had it in my tunnel.

Kalopanax looks impressive, Nancy! Now I'm thinking of evil ways some plants have developed - for example, nettle has tiny stinging hairs which harden into small needles on older parts of the plant. It's also one of my favourites in the garden, because I love the smell! With all the thorny shrubs around the nettle, some parts of my garden don't look very friendly ;)

I have berberis too, it has edible leaves which taste like lemon. I sometimes use them in salads.

Thorny plants also provide shelter for small birds, protecting them from cats and other predators. I always wonder how they can avoid the thorns so well, and not get hurt... they're so tiny and fragile.
Some birds, like shrike, use thorns to impale their prey upon a sharp point – thorns or the barbs of barbed wire. Latin name of the genus, Lanius (Larius) translates to "butcher", from laniare - "tear to pieces".


Wikipedia: Great grey shrike