Featured Plants : berries

A Spectacular Flowering Crabapple -- Sugar Tyme®

barb-nhn — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:14:00 GMT

Showing off its masses of gorgeous, sugar-white fragrant flowers, Sugar Tyme® Crabapple puts on quite the show in May! After its spectacular flowering, you can enjoy this Crabapple's colorful, crisp and lustrous green foliage that emerges.

This lovely ornamental tree produces large, brilliant red berries, with total sweetness, that attract birds. These berries ripen in the fall and persist through winter. Vigorous and very disease-resistant, this Crabapple forms an upright, oval shape and is a bit smaller than some other flowering crabs. So, if an oval form patio tree with fragrant white blooms is what you desire, Sugar Tyme® would be a nice selection. Growing to a height of 16 to 18 feet, it is great for the smaller yard too.

Sugar Tyme® is spectacular in the landscape since the rich red fruits remain on the tree all year. This tree requires full sun and does well in most soil, but will be more attractive if fed peat and compost.

The Dwarf Sargents Crab Tree

barb-nhn — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:19:00 GMT

Reaching a height of 10-15 feet, this dwarf tree flowers profusely in early spring with pink to white scented blossoms; it is well known for its stunning flowers. The Sargents Crab tree is excellent for wildlife because of its edible dark red berries that persist on the tree into winter. Its dense summer foliage is a dark green color and provides shelter for wildlife.

Sargents Crab tree has the smallest leaves of all the crabs. Being a flowering, compact, landscape tree, it is often used as a specimen or patio tree; can be pruned to a single trunk.

This deciduous ornamental tree has moderate water requirements and a moderate tolerance to salt and alkali. Sargents crab prefers a sunny location with moist, well drained soil but will grow on sites with heavier and drier soils. One of the smallest crabapples, it is a mounded, wide spreading tree, (wider than high), with disordered branching and frequent cross branching.

A Thornless Barberry Bush - Check It Out!

patti-nhn — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 10:04:00 GMT

This Thornless Barberry Bush is quite a beauty with its green leaves that also have great fall color. It is a variety of the Japanese Green Barberry Bush and is globe shaped and compact making it great for small spaces such as an accent bush in front of taller plants or as a decorative bush along the front of your house. Technically, this plant is an "almost thornless" bush, it does have some thorns but not as many as a thorned Barberry Bush. It's thorns make it a good barrier plant that wildlife tends to choose not to contend with.

The bush will be bright green leaved in the spring with spiny twigs and red fruit. In the fall its leaves will begin to change over to red and then add orange and yellow to the mix. This will give you quite a show when everything else is brown and gray. It will mature from 3 to 4 feet tall and spread from 3 to 4 feet wide. It does prefer require full sun but is very adaptable to other sun exposures. It is very adaptable to different types of soils and amount of moisture. The fruit can attract birds and other wildlife. This is a versatile shrub that will brighten up your landscape!

Korean Barberry Bushes Make Great Barrier Plants

patti-nhn — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 11:33:00 GMT

If you want to put up a barrier, decorative hedge or privacy hedge, the Korean Barberry Bush lends itself to that very easily. This colorful oval shaped shrub has thorns and has very dense foliage. One time of meeting up with the thorns should deter just about anything from roaming into the area they are bordering. The Korean Barberry also is decorative with its small yellow flowers in mid-spring that brighten the bush as they hang in clusters. In Autumn, berries will appear with their bright red color that can continue into winter. Reddish-Purple fall foliage adds to its year round interest and beauty.

This bush can meet many of your needs and can be used in so many different ways by itself or together with others. Mature height of this bush is from 4 to 6 feet tall and it will spread from 4 to 5 feet wide and could fill in a large area well. It has a moderate growth rate and requires full sun to partial shade. The bush is adaptable to many soils but not overly wet soils. You may want to prune if you want it to maintain a certain shape, otherwise, you can let it go without pruning, you have both options. The zones from 3 to zone 8 are where this bush grows, making it rather cold hardy. For beauty and function, this is one of the best bushes for you.

The Crimson Pygmy Barberry Is A Miniature For Small Spaces

patti-nhn — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 18:10:00 GMT

Do you have a small space that you can't figure out what to do with? The Crimson Pygmy Barberry is a miniature Barberry bush that is one of the best to fill in those spaces. It is small at 2 feet tall and it will spread out about 2 to 3 feet. Compact and mounding describe this bush. It has colorful ruby-red foliage that lasts from fall to winter and new growth to the bush will be bright red. This bush puts out flowers in the spring that are small and yellow. They will produce bright red fruit which is enjoyed by birds and wildlife and adds extra color. The fall colors of the foliage is orange-scarlet. How can you resist all these great attributes?

The Crimson Pygmy requires full sun in order to put out its beautiful coloring. Moist, well-drained soil is needed to grow appropriately. It will grow in zones 4 to 7 making it cold hardy. This bush could be used as a small border lining your sidewalk or driveway for instance. Planted in front of other bushes or plantings it can add extra interest into your landscaping. Barberry bushes could also be planted individually on their own and are low maintenance and hardy, they don't need any special treatment. This is a great bush that you will enjoy for years to come.

Darrow Blackberries Are Honey Sweet!

patti-nhn — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:00:00 GMT

For a blackberry that is honey sweet, the Darrow is a great choice. The Darrow Blackberry Rubus 'Darrow' produces large berries which make them wonderful choices for fresh eating or also in decorative desserts. Obviously, you won't need as many when you are putting them in pies, jams and many other recipes. The Darrow is hardy, reliable and rust resistant which means a better yield for you. The berries themselves are a dark black and generally will be about 1 inch across in size.

The Darrow will need moist, well-drained soil. Full sun is required for good fruit production and it is self-pollinating, not requiring another blackberry to pollinate. The height of the plant can grow from 4 to 6 feet tall and spread as much as 3 to 4 feet across. They are hardy from zone 5 to zone 8. It produces white flowers in the spring and will start producing fruit generally in July. If you like blackberries, this is a great choice for you and by growing them yourself, you will be saving a lot of money.

Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry A Brilliant Choice!

patti-nhn — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 12:33:00 GMT

Serviceberry Trees are known for their ornamental and fruit bearing assets. The Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry Amelanchier x grandiflora 'Autumn Brilliance' falls easily into this category. The flowering white blossoms begin in spring. They are then followed by an abundant crop of purplish to black colored fruit. Its leaves are a dark green which is a wonderful background to the white flowers and the dark berries. In the fall the leaves will turn a brilliant red and really show off for you. In other words, it is "brilliant".

The Autumn Brilliance is one of the most superior of the serviceberries and is hardy from zone 3 up to zone 8. It grows to a height of about 20 to 25 feet tall. It has an upright shape and is an excellent grower. This serviceberry tree would make a wonderful ornamental addition to your landscape and if you enjoy bird watching, the berries can attract birds as well.

Holly-Winter Red The Queen Of Fruiting Shrubs

patti-nhn — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:30:00 GMT

The Holly-Winter Red Ilex verticillata 'Winter Red' also called Winter Red Winterberry is the Queen of fruiting shrubs. It is a female shrub so it does need a male to pollinate. The Ilex 'Southern Gentlemen' is the recommended pollinator for the Winter Red to obtain the bright red fruits that are fairly large and beautiful to behold. Birds love the fruits as well so if you are a birdwatcher this would be a great addition to your garden. The foliage is bright green and will turn bronze in the fall. The leaves will last until late in the fall when they will drop off and really expose the bright red berries. It is truly an ornamental shrub and would make a great border plant.

This Holly is hardy to zones 4-9 and requires full sun. It will need some room to grow as it will mature from 6 to 9 feet tall and can spread up to about 8 feet wide. It is a round shaped bush that does best in moist soils but is widely adaptable to soils. It can often be found in the woods or swampy areas. It is truly a delight to behold into the wintertime and all year round.

White Snowberry Shrub Sports Blue-Green Foliage

patti-nhn — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:37:00 GMT

Blue is my favorite color so I tend to gravitate towards blue flowers or blue foliage as often as my husband will let me. Technically, I haven't started planting much yet as we are still trying to decide what we want to do. We have been in the house a year but we are still being surprised by what has already been planted and we need to work around those plants.

This White Snowberry is one that I think I would really like to try. It's foliage is a beautiful blue-green which is something I'm not sure I have seen before. In July it blooms with pink flowers, then in autumn it puts out an abundance of white berries! Many birds are attracted to the berries on the shrub including hummingbirds and even pheasants.

It grows to a nice tall height of 5-6 feet and spreads 3-6 feet so would work nicely as a hedge as well as on its own. It prefers partial sun and grows from zone 3-7. For color and an unusual plant, the White Snowberry would work well.

Crusader Hawthorn Thornless and Colorful

patti-nhn — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 13:17:00 GMT

If you like Hawthorn trees but not their thorns, the Crusader Hawthorn is the one you've been waiting for! Not only is it thornless but it's fall color is gorgeous with it's yellow to orange leaves. I love the fall colors of the trees each year but it seems like fall is too short and then winter comes and ruins everything. So, I try to soak up as much fall tree colors as I can. When I'm driving, I will take any shortcut or longcut (I make up my own words as I go along) to be able to view more of the beauty of all of the different trees colors.

This is a perfect tree for a small area. It's mature height is 12-15 feet and it's spread is the same so it has a nice rounded form. In the spring it has white flowers and after that bountiful red berries. If you are a bird lover, you can watch them go after the berries, especially as winter approaches.

The Crusader does well in full sun to partial sun and very adaptable to urban conditions as well as country conditions. For a beautiful tree with lots of options, this would be a great choice.

Here's a Gold Nugget for You!

patti-nhn — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 19:31:00 GMT

It seems like gold has had the attention of the world almost since the beginning of it's creation. The color of gold is often considered warm, like the gold flames of a fire. It is most prized in jewelry and to award someone for a job well done. In the garden, it can have the same effect.

May I suggest a bush that will be prized in your landscape? The "Dart's Gold" Ninebark bush fits this description. The golden yellow leaves of this versatile shrub are bright and colorful. They are a ray of sunshine! They are deciduous so will lose their leaves to reveal papery looking branches which is attractive in the winter as well. If you are a bird watcher, there are also red berries to attract them to your yard.

Dart's Gold Physo. o. 'Dart's Gold'' generally grow about 4-5 feet tall and 4-5 feet wide so would also make a nice border plant in your yard or around or behind a flower garden. They are low maintenance and can handle dry conditions. If you want to add some sunshine, plan on a few of these bushes in your landscape.

Currants make wonderful tasty treats!

patti-nhn — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 20:37:00 GMT

We have bushes on our front fence that were there when we moved in. They appeared to be some type of vine. We couldn't figure out what kind for sure and we had just moved in and it was not on our priority list. We knew that it filled up the cyclone fence and fanned over the top to make a wonderful privacy fence.

This year we are more settled in and realized that they were actually fruiting. My husband thought they looked like grape vines and they are very much like them. The berries began forming in the spring but it was mid to late summer before they actually started to ripen. They are small berries but they grow in bunches, like grapes. They hide pretty well under the leaves so picking them is a process but we had a lot of fun doing it.

We still weren't all that energetic although we tried a few and found them to be very sweet and juicy. Our daughter-in-law came over one day and being the chef that she is wanted to experiment with them. We picked a huge bag full and she took them home with her to experiment. She wanted to make juice and so she was able to put them through a sieve which removes the fruit from the seed. They do have a good sized seed but there is still plenty fruit to use. She made some juice and then decided to make some pancake syrup and it is absolutely delicious! She can't wait to begin using them in other types of recipes and plans to grow some of her own next year. She's thinking jams, pies, pastries, etc.

We determined that they are a Black Currant Berry not grapes. They look very similar to the Consort Black Currants, Ribes nigrum "consort" that are available on our website. These are the easiest things to grow, they need almost no care whatsoever. Ours are very tough and can handle about any amount of abuse, being on the sidewalk side of our yard and being near an elementary school, they get poked and prodded on a regular basis. They are getting full sun and mainly rainwater we don't give them any extra watering. These were already established however, so if you are just starting to grow them they will need some initial care than they will down the road.

I know we plan to take better advantage of them next year, I am thinking putting them on ice cream or in smoothies, after pitting of course, might be delicious!

Issai Beautyberry-Graceful and Refined

patti-nhn — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 12:36:00 GMT

I have heard the Issai Beautyberry Callicarpa Dichotoma 'Issai' described as a graceful and refined shrub. Their long slender branches arch and touch the ground at their tips. Dainty pink flowers bloom in the spring. If you enjoy bird watching, you will probably notice them checking out the lavender-purple berries in the summer. These berries really show off against the green foliage.

If you have a small space, this is a very compact shrub maturing to 3-4 feet high and 3-4 feet wide. This makes it adaptable to many garden plans. It is disease and insect resistant. For the best fruit color you will need to place these in full or part sun. For a fun thing to do with your kids on a summer day would be to add some of these berries to their mud pies! How fun would that be? I might have try it myself even if there aren't any kids around!