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Winter Garden Interest V - Berries and Broadleaf Evergreens

© Carol Wallace

If you can see most of your garden easily from the house, then there are probably few plants that surprise you in winter, as you can easily keep track of them year round. I'm not so lucky - huge portions of our yard are hidden by the garage, barn, tall stands of evergreens or sharp drop-offs in levels. So you will forgive me if I sound surprised about some of the shrubs that offer winter interest. They've been doing it for years - I just didn't notice.

SHRUBS WITH COLORFUL BERRIES Ilex cornuta (Chinese holly) Bright red berries Ilex meserveae(Blue Girl/Blue Boy holly) bright red berries Ilex x meserveae (Evergreen Hollies): red or yellow berries Ilex verticillata (Winterberry Hollies): red berries Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry): bright red berries Pyracantha (Firethorn): orange berries Aronia arbutifolia) (Chokeberry): red or black berries Myrica pensylvanica(Bayberry): silver berries Skimmia japonica: red berries Crataegus phaenopyrum (Hawthorn) red or orange berries Some malus (crabapples) red fruits Buckthorn: black berries Viburnum trilobum : black, blue, or red berries Rosa (Rose):bright red hips Ampelopsis (Porcelain berry): bright turquoise berries Callicarpa (Beautyberry): bright violet berries Celastrus scandens (American Bittersweet): bright orange berries

When you mention winter interest most people's minds seem to jump to shrubs that have brightly colored berries. I know I planted a pyracantha for that very reason - the orange berries were sure to brighten a winter day, especially against the background of a gold chamaecyparus. And they do - until somewhere in December when the birds have stripped it of all its fruit.

The same goes for roses - some have absolutely gorgeous red hips. The birds eat those, too. And those of the barberry, bayberry, crabapple and just about everything else.

This is not all bad! If you put up a feeder and keep it filled, and provide a supply of water that doesn't freeze over, those birds will stick around your house all winter - and they are probably the most colorful and interesting sights in the winter garden. So by all means, plant shrubs and vines that will offer berries, and your garden will be full of life even in the dead of winter.

Some shrubs that are noted for their winter berries insist on having a mate before they will put on their colorful show. For instance, many hollies, notable Ilex verticillata and Ilex x meserveae, demand a male and female plant before the female will burst forth in colorful red berries. So make sure your hollies have a mate. Harem-like, one male can handle any number of females - as long as they are somewhat close by.

callicarpa	blue girl holly		rhododendron	mountain laurel
pierus		lavender	daphne

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