Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush

Remember this nursery rhyme?

Here we go round the mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush.
Here we go round the mulberry bush
So early in the morning.

Hailing from KL, the urban capital of Malaysia, I have not, until recently, seen a live mulberry bush. And my only knowledge of it is from the nursery rhyme.

And since this is a Western nursery rhyme, I also assumed that the mulberry comes from a 4-season geographic zone. Although at the back of my mind I remember vaguely it being the food of choice for silk worms -the famed little animals that China uses to produce its fabulous silk fabric that adorned emperors and empresses and all royal family members of ancient times, and in today's modern times still commands tremendous adoration. And China can get pretty cold right?

So I was very surprised to learn that the mulberry is actually native to Asia, and it grows very well here in Malaysia! My maid told me that as a child, she and her friends would climb the mulberry tree in her native Indonesia, sit on its branches and snack on the abundant mulberries the tree gives. My gardener also just told me the same thing - when he was a youngling, there were many mulberry trees in the part of Malaysia where he came from and he remembers the bunches of red berries hanging from the tree.

Wow! I am so excited about the mulberry because apparently, it is very easy to grow and fruits constantly. But it is a TREE not a bush! So the nursery rhyme has tricked me (and maybe you) into believing that the mulberry is but a small plant.

Anyway, I obtained my cutting of the mulberry tree from a very kind and generous couple. Their place of business is in a shop near the central market of Ipoh, and just a couple of shops away from the dentist that I took my maid to. Her sharp eyes spied the mulberry bush/ plant growing out of a broken pot in front of the shop. The tree looks aged, not very large but healthy. I spoke to the couple about the mulberry and they smilingly explained that many people have taken an interest in their mulberry tree. I noticed that they had done several grafting efforts on the branches of their mulberry.

The husband promptly inspected his tree and cut off a branch for me. I offered to pay for it, as that is only right. But the couple declined and said to just take it. How generous and kind! But I returned to the shop the next day with a bag of pastries and buns for the couple. Their simple gesture of gifting a branch from their tree to me, a stranger, really touched me.

Now the little mulberry branch has been planted into my garden, and I hope it will grow and thrive. Then my kids can dance around the mulberry bush and sing the rhyme!