Berried Treasure

At this time of year some of the great delights in the garden are the berry bearing plants. They bring splashes of colour, provide winter food for wildlife and are great for floral arrangements in the home. If, over Christmas, you admired an abundance of berries within your neighbour's door or table decorations then now is the time to be planting so you can create your own for years to come.

Holly is the Christmas classic with bright red berries and, if you chose the correct variety, gold or silver variegated foliage. Most hollies are either male or female, the female producing berries. You will need a male and female to produce berries. Beware.... the naming of some popular hollies is guaranteed to cause confusion.... Silver Queen is a male variety grown for it silver margined leaves. Golden King, a female variety, has a wonderful foliage and will provide berries if pollinated. Holly can be grown as a low or high hedge, as a tree or a large feature shrub.

Pyracantha is a popular berried shrub that can provide red, yellow or orange berries. It is also thorned so popular as a shrub/screen planted under windows etc to deter unwelcome visitors. Birds like nesting in a Pyracantha as the thorns also provide them with protection from predators. Like all berried plants, berries start with flowers. A common question with many plants is "why didn't it berry?" and the answer often is connected to when the plant was pruned. As hedges, Pyracantha is often pruned in the spring - just when the flowers are setting fruit!

For a completely different look consider a Cotoneaster. Like Holly, it can be grown as a shrub or tree. Most varieties have a weeping habit so if grown as a tree you can achieve a wonderful cascade of berries. Cut stems are great for creating swags on staircases and fireplaces. As a small growing tree Cotoneasters are perfect in domestic gardens and will flourish in large planters. As a shrub, their dense habit makes them good as a ground cover, weed suppressing plant.

One of my favourite berried plants is Callicarpa. The stunning purple, and they really are purple, berries are a real delight as they cluster along the bare winter stems. Spring foliage has a great bronze/purple colour that makes it popular with flower arrangers. Choose the variety Profusion for the best berry crop - it lives up to its name! Other varieties are best planted in groups of 3 to ensure berries.

Amongst the best of the rest... berry bearers to look for in the garden centre include Skimmia, Viburnum, Gaultheria and Pernettyas. Whatever you chose, ensure you understand the flowering time so as to avoid pruning the future fruit. Also check the best soil type required as some, such as Gaultheria may be best grown in a pot or planter. As ever, if you see and like it... buy it! Your garden will be richer for the addition of some berried treasure!

Boyd J Douglas Davies, January 2022