Sometimes our obsession with flowers overshadows other marvelous attributes of plants. Foliage, bark and berries sometimes provide interest and beauty long after the flowers have faded. September is a great season for berries. As I walk the garden my eyes are drawn to the blue pearls lining the beautyberry branches.  I prefer the blue varieties over the ones with the white berries.  Not quite as perfect but every bit as blue are the arrow wood viburnum berries. This one is on a glossy leafed variety called Chicago Lustre and is right now forming a blue wall for me along a sidewalk.  In addition to blue, there are lots of reds starting to form this time of year. The firethorn, the winterberry and the Blue Princess hollies are starting to display reds that will last well into the winter and will contrast nicely with blankets of snow.  This is especially true of winterberry since it drops it leaves fairly early in the fall and holds it berries for most of the winter.  The purple berries of the pokeweed and the red Kousa dogwood berries are spectacular right now. But it doesn’t take the birds and the squirrels long to figure out how good they taste. As a result, these two don’t quite hold their berries as long as I would like.

So next time you are adding a plant to your yard, consider something with a conspicuous berry. The birds will thank you.

Posted by Bob Rensel