Peter Dowdall: Winter berries are not just for the birds
Enjoying A Blue Berries Tit Winter File Picture
In this post-Halloween world, even though the milder than usual temperatures may be confusing us, we are certainly in winter now and headed towards the end of the year. The great outdoors can be a challenging pace for wildlife during the next few months so it's good to give them a helping hand.
One of the most important ways that we can do that is by using berried plants in our gardens. We can often overlook winter berries as a source of colour in our gardens but we shouldn’t. The display that they give and the beauty that they bring during otherwise pretty dull months is every bit as dramatic as the colours of the summer and perhaps more important as we can often do with a bit of a lift during the duller months when daylight amounts are dwindling.
Not only are they beautiful, but we can admire them too, knowing that they play an important role in sustaining the birds and other beneficial wildlife in our gardens.
Native Irish, berried plants are inherently suited to our local environment and require less maintenance and offer greater benefits to local ecosystems than many non-native species. Birds such as robins, thrushes, and blackbirds rely on these berries to get through the colder months.
Crataegus monogyna, the hawthorn, whitethorn, or “sceach gheal" in Irish, is a small deciduous tree that produces clusters of red berries, or haws, in the autumn and winter. The tree’s twisted, thorny branches bring interest and character to the garden and a hedge of hawthorn will create a security barrier better than any barbed wire fence!
Sorbus aucuparia has many common names, among them, rowan, mountain ash and “caorthann”. This is another native Irish tree that produces really beautiful sprays of white flowers in early summer which, at this time of year, develop into red-orange berries which will last on the trees well into winter, if the birds don’t devour them first.
The rowan tree has deep cultural and mythological significance, often associated with protection and good fortune. It prefers full sun and well-drained soil and can tolerate high winds and exposed locations.
Blackbirds and thrushes are particularly fond of these so expect to see more. Once you have these birds in the garden, they will then repay you during the year by feeding on slugs, snails, weevils and other nasties. It's all about working with the natural world in our gardens and not the other way around.
Holly, or “cuileann”, is one of our best-known native berried plants, instantly recognizable with its glossy, spiky green leaves and bright red berries. It is particularly significant in Irish folklore, symbolising protection and bringing good luck, especially during the winter season, which, I think, is why we have the tradition of bringing some sprigs indoors over the Christmas period.
You may not know that certain plants have both male and female forms, and these are known as dioecious plants and holly is one such genus. Female holly plants produce berries, but both male and female plants are required for berry production.
Just to confuse us gardeners more, some forms of holly are self-fertile, with both male and female flowers on one plant and thus these will produce berries all on their own but I always find that plants berry better if a few different forms are planted.
Holly is an evergreen, providing year-round structure and colour. It thrives in a range of conditions, from full sun to shade, and can tolerate both dry and damp soils. Holly berries provide a food source for birds such as blackbirds, thrushes, and robins throughout the winter months.
Viburnum opulus, known as the guelder rose, is a deciduous shrub with clusters of bright, nearly translucent, red berries that stand out against the winter landscape.
However, apart from the beauty and importance of their berries, this viburnum is breathtakingly beautiful when in bloom during early summer. Large, bright, white flowers cover the shrub for a long period and later in the autumn, the leaves turn a lovely yellow before falling and letting the berries take centre stage.
Song thrushes and bullfinches, feed on the berries during winter and it prefers moist, fertile soils and grows well in partial shade, making it suitable for woodland edges or wetter garden areas.
There are so many more native Irish berried plants worth growing in our gardens such as the blackthorn, spindleberry, elderberry, to name but a few, all with different growth habits and requirements and all will play an important role in sustaining local wildlife during the next few months.
- Got a gardening question for Peter Dowdall? Email gardenquestions@examiner.ie