When you think of a beautiful garden, you may think of rhododendrons and azaleas, but what you may not know is that a high bush blueberry plant is not only complementary to these flowers but is also a member of the same family. If you are searching for plants that grow well in the same conditions and have will bring out each other's best features, you should consider using these plants in tandem.

If you live in a cold climate, you should be prepared to plant your blueberries in the fall and harvest all you need prior to the first frost and coldest days of the next Fall. This is due to the fact that the high bush blueberry plant does not adapt well to cold winters. Your plant will begin to flower in February and this stage will continue into June, with fruit production occurring between April and October, after approximately 60-65 days of flowering.

The flowers themselves are beautiful white or have a slight pink tinge. They are urn shaped, and feature five petals. These flowers appear on the plant in clumps of eight to ten. The flowers alone are reason enough to plant this fruit-bearing plant in your garden, whether it is a flower garden or a fruit and vegetable garden.

When plating a high bush blueberry plant you should avoid areas that could be considered a frost pocket-where the frost is attracted to and most likely to develop on cold days-and also ensure that the plant has ample room the grow. Though this plant does not have a wide breadth, it can grow to be between six and twelve feet in height.

While the high bush blueberry plant is fertile and self-seeds to create a more abundant harvest over the years, you can also cross-pollinate the plants in order to speed up this process. An abundant harvest every year will ensure that you have more than enough blueberries to use them in cakes, pies and muffins all summer while saving some for smoke-drying, sun-drying, boiling, canning, jarring and freezing for use throughout the year-picking and preparing your fruit as it ripens will help you make the most of your harvest.

You should never plant your blueberries near plants that require soils with low acidity-this is because your blueberries require a high level of acidity in order to achieve the state they are so widely known for-purple or blue with a great taste and plenty of vitamins and other nutrients. In addition, you should provide moisture and organic matter-rich soil, as well as full sun to partial shade so your plant will produce more flowers and thusly, more fruit.

The high bush blueberry plant comes in a wide variety of sizes from the size of a dime in diameter down to the size of the nail on your pinky finger. No matter which variety you select, opening your garden to blueberries will make you a permanent fan.