Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Blueberries, figs, and muscadines are plants good for backyard orchard s– you don’t have to do much as far as insect or disease control goes. Elderberry is another plant you might add to your backyard if you have some room. In other parts of the country, there are lots of both commercial and home orchards of elderberry but for some reason we haven’t used them much in the south. But Dr. Greg Reigard, one of Clemson’s top fruit researchers, has some planted at the Musser Farm and they are doing just fine. There are lots of nurseries that offer improved varieties of elderberries that tend to ripen at the same time and some have slightly larger berries. You should choose more than one variety; however, you’ll get better fruit set if plants with different genetic backgrounds provide pollen for each other.