Decorative Fruiting Shrubs

The holidays are over. For gardeners, it’s time to dream of our spring gardens and new plants. This year I’m all about fruiting shrubs, and at the top of my list is Sweet Lifeberry^™ Goji Berry. Haven’t heard of goji berries yet? Those little red fruits are powerhouses of good health, and they grow in full sun. Even better, they’re self-pollinating.

I don’t want to forget my feathered friends, so I’m planting several shrubs just for them, beginning with Pearl Glam^{^®} Beautyberry. Pink flowers contrast nicely with purple-tinged foliage, but the show starts in fall when loads of purple berries mature. These attract many different birds, but especially Northern Bobwhite Quail. Another good berry producing shrub for a fall crop is Brandywine^™ Viburnum. It has pink and blue berries birds love to eat, and the foliage turns dark maroon when cold winds blow.

While I’m thinking of birds, I need other fruiting shrubs and more winter color. We don’t get a lot of snow, and the brown landscape is almost more than a gardener can bear. So, I’m adding Berry Heavy^{^®} Winterberry Holly or a crop of red berries the birds will eat, and I’ll love in holiday arrangements. Hollies need a male plant to produce berries. Ilex ‘Jim Dandy’ blooms for a long time and fits the bill.

A warning . . . don’t eat berries from any shrub before making sure they aren’t poisonous. Goji berries are fine, but some of my other suggestions definitely aren’t for human consumption.

Tired of the cold and longing for spring? Choose berry-producing shrubs to entice the eye and under plant them with cool perennials and annuals for four seasons of delight.