The bleak winter weather is dark and dreary but that doesn’t mean your garden has to be. Garden plants that grow beautiful bright berries provide a pop of colour that will break through a glittering frost to display a Christmas-card-worthy scene right outside your window.
The garden can still be a place of activity for nature too with birds foraging for food. As the ground becomes too hard for them to dig for worms, they tend to feed on nutritious berries found on shrubs like the ones we mention below.
Gaultheria
The Gaultheria Pink Pearl has pink, white or red glossy berries and does well being grown in a container. In fact, this Gaultheria is quite rare, but truly wonderful in the winter months with its stunning display.
Viburnum
The Viburnum shrubs boasts blue berries that last through the winter which provide welcome food for birds, especially the popular Viburnum Onondaga plant which produces berries well into winter.
Mistletoe
Mistletoe and its captivating white berries are associated with the festive period and it grows on a host tree such as a conifer. An icon for this time of year!
Holly
Holly is a winter garden classic that is also associated with Christmas. Holly boasts bright red berries against glossy green leaves and is often used in floral Christmas decorations such as wreaths.
Callicarpa Bodinieri Profusion
A hardy shrub that has large clusters of purple cluster berries. It is generally low maintenance and a great addition to most garden types and settings.
Hawthorn
Often used as hedgerows the Crataegus Monogyna begins to form deep red fruits which are called Haws making a popular choice for local wildlife and birds. A pleasent treat this time of year.
Blackthorn
The fruits grown on blackthorn are called sloes and are commonly used for making wine and highly popular for flavouring gin. The berries are a dark wintery blue.
Juniper
Juniper plants also grows berries that can be used for flavouring gin, they are also used in liqueurs or to make sauces (tastey right?!). The berries are a stunning bluey purple and can range in size and shape, for example the Juniper Old Gold or Juniper Blue Carpet plants.
Dog rose
The dog rose will bear bright orange shaped hips that form in clusters. They provide a food source for birds and due to their high vitamin C content, they were traditionally used to make a syrup to boost levels.
Snowberry
This hardy shrub has attractive glossy pink berries and is easy to grow.
Aucuba Japonica Salicifolia
This is a bushy green evergreen shrub that will bear large red berries in the winter. It is relatively low maintenance and can cope in most locations.
With Christmas approaching, you could even decorate the bushes in your garden with some twinkly fairy lights so that it comes alive by night too.
What Do You Think?
Pop a comment below if you have any favourite shrubs which produce beautiful berries this time of year. And if you are already planning garden activities for next year, check out our January Gardening Jobs post.