Merry berries
Decorate your home with the fruit of showy shrubs
Bringing berries into the house from the landscape is a treasured tradition, particularly during the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons. There are dozens of different shrubs that bear showy berries starting in late fall and some going into the New Year. Growing a few bushes in the garden that produce berries can give you pleasure with harvesting and arranging them in your home. Some berries will even lure birds into your yard.
As the carol exclaims, “Deck the halls with boughs of holly!” The glistening green leaves of the evergreen hollies, with their shiny red berries are a perfect addition to any garden or arrangement. The leaves make a statement during the winter and the berries are an extra bonus that will add a visual flair to your garden. I have seen exquisite arrangements made when you take a Burford holly (Ilex contra “Buffordii”) branch that is laden with berries and strip the leaves. This makes a stunning effect when added to other greenery or left as is and put in a vase. Burford hollies are easy to grow and unless you have a late freeze in the spring, they are filled with shiny red berries at Christmas.
If you happen to see purple berries, sparkling in the autumn sun, these are called beautyberry (Callicarpa). These brightly colored berries fill the stem with an unusual color and make a stunning display for the Thanksgiving table or in a Christmas arrangement. They are native and grow quickly when planted in a sunny damp location. As with the Burford holly branches, I strip the leaves to expose the berries. Beautyberry also comes with white berries and they are dramatic too, but less commonly grown.
Our front porch has two containers that I fill with greens each winter. For an added touch, I add branches of winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata) to give the greenery the extra punch it needs to be festive. I also use them in a vase where they are an eye-catcher by themselves. They grow in moist soil and full sun. I have part of mine next to the pond and I love to see the dramatic reflection when the pond surface is like a mirror and the reflection of the berries is vivid.
One of the oldest traditions is to use cedar at Christmas. The pleasing scent of the cedar gives a refreshing aroma to the house and the texture of the cedar adds a different feel than other greenery. An additional bonus to cedar is to find the perfect tree that is laden with blue berries. Not all cedars produce berries. There are male and female trees and if you are lucky, you will find a female tree that is loaded with these lovely blue berries that can add a perfect touch to your holiday decorations. Cedar is one of the most used greens at Christmas.
I grew up seeing Pyracantha in many gardens as I walked to school each day. This plant is known for a plethora of orange or orange-red berries. Today, thanks to nurserymen who hybridize plants, there are newer varieties that have a profusion of berries and in different shades of red and orange than the old-timey ones I used to see in neighbors’ yards. The shiny bright berries can set off an arrangement when placed among leucothoe, Poet’s Laurel or other greens that are you have available to use in an arrangement. Poet’s Laurel (Danae racemosa) is a plant that I rarely see growing in the home landscape. Poet’s Laurel was used in ancient times in Greek and Roman culture representing praise for a victory or great achievement in the form of a laurel crown. It is one of my favorite greens to use in flower arrangements because of the arching habit and long vase life. I have a large group of these plants planted on a bank above a stream. Half of the plants are male and half are female with lovely red berries that are present during the holiday season. Of the berries I use in the house, these are the ones friends comment on the most. They are larger than the other berries I have mentioned and perfect to use to create an elegant floral display.
With few flowers blooming this time of year, berries are a wonderful addition to use in decorating. They make an arrangement special, plus it is nice to be able to bring the landscape into the house.