The last few mornings in Tidewater have been crisp and there’s no denying that fall has arrived. Most gardeners agree that one of the best parts of a fall garden are the colorful berries on shrubs and trees. Birds are migrating like crazy on this property and enjoying the berries as much as I am. They are filling their tummies with tons of berries and I am filling my mind with the beauty of a wide array of colors, shapes and sizes. Many plants for this landscape were selected just for the berries they produce. Here are a few in the garden today:
Poet's Laurel (Danae racemosa)
American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana)
Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina domestica)
Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina domestica 'Alba')
Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida)
Other fall berries that I admire in my gardens are clusters of tiny blue berries on our Southern Wax Myrtle (Myrica cerifera), red coral honeysuckle (Lonicera semperviens) berries, bumpy red berries of the Kousa Dogwood (Cornus kousa chinensis), several varieties of cotoneaster with masses of berries that are still green, numerous viburnums, foster’s holly that cedar waxwings adore, red plump berries of the female Aucuba japonica, showstopper berries on several winterberries (Ilex verticillata), and one of the loveliest but a weed is the pokeberry, this one already picked clean of almost all berries by hungry birds.
Pokeberry (Phytolacca americana)
Ann Hohenberger, The Garden Club of Gloucester
I love the Callicarpa. This is the first year mine has done anything. The birds have notcied also.
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For some strange reason, it’s the last berry the birds eat around here… but that make it last longer as eye candy!
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Beautiful pictures, Ann! May I use the beautyberry picture if I give you credit for it?? Marion Baker, D.O.G. Flowers
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Marion, of course! Gardening means more when it’s shared….
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I love these photos of the berries. I didn’t know birds ate pokeberries. I thought they were poisonous. Do you know if they eat the Nandina too?
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Around here, nandina is not their favorite berry but in the dead of winter, it is consumed. It’s considered an invasive plant in this area and birds play a role in dispersing the seed. Mildly toxic, it’s not dangerous but there are pet warnings. Our cats and dogs have never been interested in ingesting the berries.
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