I love arranging flowers and often help my friends with wedding bouquets and arrangements.  Hypericum berries are often requested in those bouquets since they add a little structure and are a fun contrast to all the flowers and they come in so many colors.   I hadn't thought of growing my own until a recent visit to a favorite herb nursery!  While there I spied a lovely big pot of Hypericum inodorum ‘Miracle Horizon.'  The owner of the nursery shared that the pot of Hypericum (which was big, bushy, and about 3 feet tall) was about 8 years old and that with a good pruning each season, fills out beautifully and thrives in our climate.

I must admit, I never realized that Hypericum was the same thing as St. John's Wort.  Silly me.  It's grown for more than just the pretty berries!  This deep green perennial shrub has an upright growth habit with showy little yellow flowers that later mature into pink-ish colored berries.  (You've likely seen these in your favorite floral department.)  The plant attracts birds and pollinators and likes sun but tolerates some shade.  At the nursery the potted Hypericum was in a semi-shaded area.

Taking cues from what I learned at the nursery, I planted my little 4” Hypericum into a nice potting soil mix in a pretty good-sized clay pot.  It gets a little shade protection on my patio.  It has only been a couple of months, but check it out below.  It is thriving and has probably quadrupled in size. Stay tuned for news on berry production!