BERRY-BEARING PLANTS 



BY F. L. MULFORD 



A LTHOUGH to the unobserving the winter land- 

 ^*- scape may seem dull and uninteresting yet to one 

 who has learned to see there are many beautiful and in- 

 teresting things even when the leaves have all fallen and 

 the grass has turned brown. Were we of the east as en- 

 thusiastic about the place of our abode as our western 

 cousins we would sing the praises of the rich browns of 

 the winter fields, the grays, browns, yellows and reds of 

 the winter stems, ad the deep greens of the winter 

 foliage of our evergreens be they coniferous or broad- 

 leaved instead of taking all as a matter of course or what 

 is more likely never seeing 

 these things at all. 



Especially on the small 

 grounds of the modest 

 home are these items of the 

 greatest importance, be- 

 cause here the members of 

 the family are brought into 

 close contact with every 

 detail so that if there is any 

 tendency to observe at all 

 these various characters 

 are seen. Of course every 

 well-planted home lot has 

 in addition to the flower- 

 ing shrubs of spring and 

 summer some evergreens 

 to give winter cheer but 

 not so many as to make 

 the place look too penned 

 up. Then too the different 

 colored barks show with 

 greater contrast against a 

 background of evergreens 

 But in order to really at- 

 tract attention to the beau- 

 ties of the out-doors after 

 the leaves have gone it is 

 desirable to use some of the 

 winter berry - bearing 

 plants to halt the hurried 

 passerby and hold him long 

 enough to really see the 

 things that are about him. 

 For example a bush filled with bright red berries after 

 the leaves have gone will attract and hold the eye long 

 enough to set the person to thinking and make them re- 

 alize that there is something worth while to be seen in 

 the humdrum of his life and before it is realized the beau- 

 ties of the surrounding plants have found their way 

 into his recognition. But to the home lover such added 

 bits of color are a continual source of satisfaction and 

 when appropriately placed add greatly to the beauty of 

 the home surroundings. 



Plants with bright red berries are those that are most 

 showy and so are the ones first noticed and first consid- 

 ered in making plans for planting berry-bearing plants. 

 Of the red berries plants probably the high bush cran- 

 berry (Viburnum americanum) is one of the best-known 

 of our natives, especially in the northern states. There 

 is a European form of the same plant {Viburnum opu- 

 lus) that is not so attractive in fruit although it too is 

 worthy of planting and in fact is not far behind the 

 American form in ornamental value. These plants are 

 especially valuable in the northern part of the United 



States although they do 

 well nearly all over the 

 country. The European 

 form is the parent of the 

 common snow-ball. The 

 high-bush cranberry has 

 foliage that seems less 

 liable to mildew than that 

 of the snow-ball and has 

 the added attraction of ber- 

 ries well into the winter. 

 As other food becomes 

 scarce birds are apt to eat 

 these berries so that they 

 are gone before spring and 

 often early in the winter. 

 The plants attain a height 

 of eight feet. Next in im- 

 portance of the red berries 

 is the barberry. A few 

 years ago these were bes*: 

 known in New England by 

 the so-called common bar 

 berry a plant introduced 

 from Europe, but that ha-.- 

 become naturalized over 

 much of New England 

 and in many other states. 

 This plant is now outlawed 

 because it harbors the 

 wheat rust fungous which 

 does so much damage in 

 wheat-growing sections of 

 the country. Its near rela- 

 tive, the Japanese barberry, has not acquired this habit 

 of keeping bad company and is an even more attractive 

 plant than the common barberry. Its berries are some- 

 what smaller and- do not swing quite so freely and grace- 

 fully from the stems, but they are more plump and solid 

 and remain on the bushes much longer. The birds do not 

 eat these berries as a rule until other food becomes 

 scarce. These plants form small to medium-sized com- 

 pact masses of prickly stems covered with small leaves 

 bronze and pea green when young, changing to dark 



HIGH-BUSH CRANBERRY 

 (F. opulus) 



fine, strong plant ana very popular. The truit hangs on all 

 winter, and in Canada is often used for jam. 



