Berry Good!

Posted on October 12, 2023 by Tina

Autumn in Central Texas brings an appreciated dramatic flush of blooms (after the heat and drought of a long summer) but also a generous offering of fruits and seeds from many spring-blooming plants.

American Beautyberry, Callicarpa americana, is a hardy shade-to-sun deciduous shrub which provides yummy meals for Blue Jays, Mockingbirds and various mammals.

Dainty pink June blooms segue to light green berry clusters in July, which then color-up in August. By mid-September, the berries arrive at their disco-metallic, ready-to-eat form. Critters show up and critters eat. I haven’t snagged a decent shot of anyone nibbling on the berries, as foliage provides good cover. But nibble they have.

The first photos were taken weeks ago, but with wildlife noshing, most of the purple goodness that decorated the shrub, are gone with those bird and mammal meals. The Beautyberry still holds a few clusters of berries, which I expect will be eaten in the next few weeks. After that, with shorter and cooler days, the foliage will turn butter yellow and eventually drop to the ground, a mosaic of autumn which, in time, will add nutrients to the soil for future growing seasons.

Another plant that resident and migratory birds enjoy is Roughleaf Dogwood tree,Cornus drummondii. This particular tree is situated behind my pond and provides good refuge for bathing birds to escape to when startled, or a restful spot to perch when fluffing wet feathers is required.

Birds nosh on the creamy white fruits which sit aloft wine-colored stems. Ignored berries have fermented, crinkled, and turned a deep black-blue.

The blast of yellow in the background comes from a couple of Plateau Goldeneye, Viguiera dentata, shrubs. Pollinators are all over these blooms right now and when the blooms end, birds will go ga-ga for the seeds. Once a freeze renders the shrub dormant, finches reportedly use dried leaves for their nesting material.

Before fall fruit development, Rough-leaf Dogwood flower creamy white blooms in April and May, attracting a variety of pollinators, especially fly and native bee species.

Wildlife friendly gardens require plants that are food sources, as well as havens from danger and for rest. These three plants are native to Texas and are excellent seasonal wildlife plants. All are tough plants and easy to grow, add form and structure for human admiration and important sustenance for wildlife. Autumn is a good time to plant perennials and trees here in Texas, so give native plants a whirl in your garden. You’ll appreciate their beauty and practice good stewardship on your plot of the Earth.

Too Hot, Too Cool

Posted on August 21, 2019 by Tina

Truthfully, I haven’t had the courage to follow too closely, but here in Austin, we’re at about 30 days of over 100º F for this summer, with most of those days occurring in August. I’m ready to pull the plug on the August oven, but I’m having trouble finding the cord.

The garden is holding up well, even with afternoon heat which delivers a tired, wilted look–for both garden and gardener. August in Texas is always hot, but thankfully it also ushers in the cool purpling of the American beautyberry, Callicarpa americana.

The diminutive pink beautyberry blooms of June are long gone and the replacement purple fruits will remain until birds eat or cold withers–which ever happens first.

Autumn is coming–eventually. The cool of the purple must suffice and for now, that’s enough.

Joining today with Anna and her Wednesday Vignette. Check out her beautiful Flutter and Hum for musings of various sorts.

The Purpling

Posted on August 22, 2018 by Tina

Days are noticeably shorter now in late August. Darkness greets my morning alarm and birds are quiet until well after I’m up and about. Nightfall appears earlier, much more than a mere few weeks ago. Autumn is palpable, though certainly not with cooler temperatures, at least not here in Central Texas. Our daily (today marked number 43) century-plus numbers are still in play, but seasonal change is afoot.

This cluster of beauty berries showcases the transformation from green to purple. The bird poop on the leaves is extra decoration.

In the last couple of weeks, the American beautyberry, Callicarpa americana, has slipped out of its summer wardrobe and donned its hooray for autumn swag. Eye-candy for the gardener and nutritious fruits for birds, the green, clustered drupes, grown since June from the remains of dainty pink blooms, have morphed to brilliant, metallic purple berries.

Green fruits,

…to purple.

This particular shrub in my back garden is about 3 years old and finally exhibiting its graceful arching form.

Berries are cream-to-green, but purple-up over 7-10 days . Triggered by the maturity of the drupe (and maybe light?), it’s a seasonal change I look forward to each hot August.

It gives me hope for the autumn to come.

Berries gather like bunches of party balloons along the branches of the shrub, the purple overwhelming the green, ready to pop in some lucky bird’s beak.

This beautyberry will grow larger, eventually filling the area of this small garden.

This beautyberry is the same age as the one above, but I transplanted it to a different spot in my front garden exactly one year ago.

Beautyberry is a good shade plant, though this one receives more sun than the back garden beautyberry. I’ve noticed that it’s grown more quickly, but has also required more water. In fact, the slight droop of the leaves in this photo indicates a thirsty plant. Since June, I’ve watered this shrub once per week, significantly more than the back garden beautyberry, which grows in shade.

In my garden, Blue Jays and Mockingbirds are the main consumers of these berries. Some years, the beautyberry greedy birds descend and devour the berries just as they turn color; other years, the berries remain on the shrub well into winter, the birds obviously getting sustenance somewhere else.

And that’s fine with me.