Winterberry Holly in the Snow The Garden Buzz
Somewhere along the line my gardening goals evolved beyond feeding myself to feeding the wildlife that frequent my garden. And then I took it one step further; attempting to attract even more fauna to feast upon my flora. And while it seems awful altruistic, a few of my reasons were selfish, plain and simple. I consider an abundance of animals the mark of a successful garden.
Cotoneaster berries The Garden Buzz
We almost all start gardening for purty flowers or tasty tomatoes, but after a while I think we crave a little more excitement, some unexpected variety, a new challenge. One day I realized I was just as interested in the insects as I was fascinated by the flowers. I needed a little more birdsong, a lot more flutter. I found the animals added movement, whimsy, and a certain wildness to an otherwise artificial space. But while I'm well aware of all that circle of life stuff, I insist that snakes are optional.
In Michael Pollan's book, Botany of Desire he ponders whether plants are manipulating humans to insure not only their survival but their spread; playing to our desire for beauty, sweetness, control and and intoxication. So when I plant fruit-producing shrubs not only for the beautiful berries and subsequently the birds, I have to ask, who's beguiling whom? Is that a two-tiered trap that I willingly fall into?
Frosted Snowberries (Charming Fantasy)
No matter. Shrubs with berries are easy plants that demand little attention in return for the show they put on. Which birds eat which berries and when, is the matter of much speculation. It is readily assumed that the sweetest and juiciest go first. Yet I watch the black crows eat the white berries of red-twig dogwood while the wild grapes hang on. Recently a red cardinal plucked a winterberry and dropped it like a rock. But the cedar waxwings strip the crabapple clean and move on.
Chokeberry (Aronia Autumn Brilliance) The Garden Buzz
Red commands attention in nature, but there are other colors to collect like black chokeberry and blushed snowberry. As winter approaches I can't resist photographing the frosted fruits all day. They remind me of Victorian epergnes of sugared grapes and such; one last, lush display of excess all too welcome before the whiteness of winter.