Blue elderberry is a must for anyone into home food preservation. Heavy bunches of pale blue berries produce sweet deep purple juice when crushed, perfect for wines and jams. If you don't use the berries, birds will be happy to help out. A 'pet' elderberry is truly a specimen plant, with giant pinnate leaves and thick rapidly-growing cane-like stems. The individual stems can be short-lived, but prune them out and a new stem will soon be growing in its place.
 
Established elderberry can tolerate substantial drought, but give it moderate irrigation for a few seasons to let it achieve fruit-bearing size. Plant with thimbleberry and chokecherry for an edible thicket.