‘We, humans, are lucky beneficiaries of the critical and free services that birds perform like controlling insect pests, dispersing seeds, pollinating plants, organic fertilising, and clearing up carcasses.’
– American environmentalist and activist, Linda Poppenheimer
Dear friends, I have a garden full of gooseberries – thanks to the birds.
I am very poor at recognising birds, so I don’t know the species of birds that plant the gooseberry seeds to my backyard.
In my entire life so far, I have never owned a gooseberry garden. I guess there is always a first time for everything.
When I saw the young plants, I wasn’t sure what they were. So I decided to wait and see. Anyway, I’m glad I was patient and did not pull them out.
Now, many of the gooseberry shrubs are bearing fruits and on the days when I’m not working, I love to pick them. Yes, they are edible and are yellow and green and very sweet when ripe. They are similar in size and flavour to grapes and have translucent skins and juicy interiors filled with many small seeds at the centres.
I am surprised to learn that gooseberries are extremely low in calories and fat but high in nutrients like copper, manganese, potassium and vitamins C, B5 and B6. They are also rich in dietary fiber and antioxidants.
Some of the gooseberry bushes in my garden are quite tall – as high as my shoulder.
Do you know that gooseberries are native to temperate countries like Europe and West Asia? They grow naturally in alpine thickets and rocky woods there.
Gooseberries are also widely cultivated in England, France and Germany. In Europe, you may find them at local farmers’ markets and farm stands. They also come in a variety of colours like, purple and even black. Yes, I have seen on the YouTube a farmer picking purple gooseberries from his backyard garden. Of course, the berries there are so much bigger than those that grow wild in my garden.
In some countries such as Russia, Poland or Scandinavia and even Germany, gooseberries are also cultivated on large commercial plantations.
I also learn that there are various gooseberry varieties including American gooseberries, European gooseberries and Indian gooseberries.
In the United States of America and Europe, the grape-like berries are most famous for use in gooseberry pies. I wonder how they taste.
Now, I wonder where the birds get the gooseberry seeds that they kindly plant in my garden. As far as I know, there are no gooseberry farms in my neighbourhood.
But anyway, I am very thankful to the birds for planting the fruits in my garden. Every morning, when a flock of birds come to the garden to feed on the ripe gooseberries, they are very noisy. But I don’t mind the din they create. I’m happy to share my gooseberries with them.
Do you want to know how birds identify ripe fruits? Well, according to scientists, they do so by using their colour vision; they can detect ultraviolet light reflected by the ripe fruits.
When I shared pictures of the gooseberry shrubs in my garden, a friend told me that she used to pick the fruits on the road while going home from school.
“But now, we seldom see these plants in the wild anymore,” she said.
About a year ago, I also came across a few wild gooseberry shrubs near a bus stop in my neighbourhood when I took my dog out for walks. Of course, I happily plucked the ripe fruits and ate them on the spot. Until then, I had not come across wild gooseberries for ages. They used to flourish in the wild in my younger days.
Wild gooseberry seeds are not the things planted by the birds in my garden. They have brought me the seeds of loofah, a green vegetable fruit, and wild bittergourds.
I have tried to plant loofah, a genus of tropical and subtropical vines in the pumpkin, squash and gourd family, for ages but failed. Suddenly, one morning, I saw a tiny luffa plant sprouting in the garden.
I quickly added fertiliser to the soil around it and have been taking special care of it since then. Now, the plant has started to flower and I wonder when it will bear fruits.
Loofahs are part of the cucumber family and can be cooked like squash, boiled or sauteed. Needless to say, I am looking forward to harvesting my own homegrown loofahs and looking forward to having the vegetables for lunch and dinner.
When my younger sister, Ah Lan, told me the young leaves could be eaten, I happily made a simple tasty soup with the leaves, chillies, anchovies and belacan (shrimp paste).
I thank the birds for planting the loofah seed and gooseberry seeds in my garden. My friends, it is really true – the best things in life are free.
