Grow nature’s pick ’n’ mix Every autumn the garden fills with a tantalising mix of colourful berries. Here are the birds’ favourites
Every autumn, the garden fills with a tantalising mix of colourful berries. Adrian Thomas reveals the birds’ favourites
As autumn advances, gardens become studded with one of the finest harvests available to wildlife: berries. Like a scattering of shiny gumdrops in mainly reds and blacks, this polka-dotted display of melt-in-the-mouth morsels sends the message, ‘Eat me! Eat me!’, and the birds duly oblige.
This is the plants’ way of recruiting a fleet of delivery drivers to transport the precious seeds within. Indeed, when the seeds have finally passed – unharmed – through the birds’ digestive systems, they’re even deposited in a helpful little dollop of fertiliser. Gardeners get a double delight: a burst of colour as the berries ripen, and entertainment as birds flock in to take advantage. Berries’ energy value is immense, and perfectly timed to help birds prepare for winter. Interestingly, you might think that different berry types were rather similar in their nutritional make-up, but actually they vary hugely. For example, yew berries (technically known as arils) are especially rich in carbohydrates, while euonymus, cornus and ivy berries are stuffed with fats. Elderberries, meanwhile, offer a rich source of protein. This just goes to show how valuable it can be to grow several different types of berry-bearing plants, in order to give the birds a well-rounded diet over winter. In terms of the range of shrubs, trees and climbers to grow, there’s genuinely something for every garden. Even on a small balcony or in a small yard it’s possible to fit something in. Honeysuckle is ideal for clambering up a wall in a small space – blackcaps and robins eagerly take these small crops of berries.
There are plenty of berry-rich shrubs for tricky shady spots, too. Cornus copes well in such situations, as does the redcurrant (ribes), while the native evergreen shrub, Daphne laureola, only thrives in a dark spot. ➤
If your garden can accommodate larger plants, many berry-rich native trees and shrubs are well adapted to our soils and climate. One of the most valuable small trees of the countryside is hawthorn, the haw being the name of its red berry which is produced in large amounts. These tend not to ripen until mid-autumn, making them ideal for the hordes of winter thrushes arriving now from Scandinavia. In gardens, it makes a fine medium-sized tree, with the added glory of white blossom in May. Cheap to buy as a young whip, it grows quickly. Try the cultivar ‘Crimson Cloud’ with its attractive, white-centred, rose-coloured flowers. Yew and holly are two of the biggest berry-bearing plants, if allowed to grow into mature trees. The total crop of berries from one tree is immense, making them especially valuable, but you need to plant female trees of both species with a male tree nearby for fertilisation to happen.
Stripped bare
The fact that birds go such a bundle for berries does bring one little challenge – they can occasionally strip a whole tree or shrub very quickly. For example, no sooner have fruits ripened on my amelanchier than the blackbirds move in, and berries of the native mountain ash or rowan, Sorbus aucuparia, can also be scoffed in a jiffy. So sometimes it helps to grow berries that aren’t quite flavour of the month, for which white, yellow and pink berries are particularly useful, probably because birds are hard-wired to seek out red and black berries. Come January and February, when birds can’t afford to be choosy, these ‘second-rate’ colours come into their own.
Try Sorbus vilmorinii (pink berries), S. cashmiriana (white) and ‘Joseph Rock’ (yellow). However, the best season extender is ivy. Ripening later than almost any other berry, with some not ready until late winter, Hedera helix is a real lifeline. As long as ivy gets its head into the sun for it to flower and hence fruit, it can be one of the most invaluable plants for wildlife in the entire garden.
Berry invaders
One environmental health-warning with berry-bearing plants is that some nonnative species are proving adept at leaping the garden fence and causing problems in some of our natural habitats. This should come as no surprise – birds often have a berry snack in one garden, then fly several miles before pooping out the seeds.
The most problem plants seem to be cotoneaster species, such as C. horizontalis, the popular wall cotoneaster, plus Japanese rose Rosa rugosa. They’re now included on Schedule 9 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act, meaning that it’s an offence to let them escape into the wild. Gaultheria and pyracantha are among the other plants showing problem signs. The main message is to be careful in what you plant, especially if you live near precious rare habitats such as chalk downland and coastal dunes and cliffs where these plants tend to establish themselves. But choose well and your berry-bearing plant will boost nature’s goody-bag, while giving your eyes a treat in the process. ✿