Elderberry shrubs flourish all over the Anza Valley. Anza Valley Outlook/Diane Sieker photo
Lush clusters of dainty white flowers are drooping from healthy green shrubs throughout the Anza Valley. They are blue elderberry bushes that are in full bloom and their berries are beginning to form, providing food for people, birds, mammals and insects.The blue elderberry is common to the region. It is a deciduous shrub, ranging from Oregon to Baja California, Mexico. Its close relative, the red elderberry, can be found in more coastal habitats.Elderberry bushes are a fast growing, multi-trunked large shrub that can grow to a maximum height of about 30 feet. The leaves are divided into one to six long, toothed leaflets. Large clusters of white flowers develop in the spring and summer, followed by dense clusters of blue to black berries. The flowers and berries attract insects, bi
