Best shrubs for berries

Winter gardens can look stark and colourless, but there are shrubs that bring a splash of colour to break the monotony, says Camilla Phelps, as she reveals her favourites

THE season of mellow fruitfulness is upon us. Yet if you look beyond the traditional harvests of apples, pears, plums and late raspberries, and the changing leaf colours, you can add a whole new palette to the garden with a selection of autumn and winter berries that will bring different layers of colour and texture.

From the visual treats of brilliant, richly coloured berries best left for the birds, to those that have the added bonus of being edible for humans, there's a wonderful array of shrubs and smaller trees of varying sizes that produce colourful autumn fruits.

Final flourish

Some shrubs really come into their own when they produce fruiting berries, having been relatively shy and retiring for most of the year. Skimmia is a reliable evergreen, but far more interesting when it bears fruit, while callicarpa is most notable for its unusual autumn berries in purple and white than at any other time of year.

Other shrubs pull off a final flourish, with berries making a fourth season of interest. You might choose Cornus kousa for its highly ornamental white bracts in early summer, but the strange, knobbly, pinkish fruits that follow will make an interesting talking point. Other cornus, grown commonly for their coloured winter bark, also produce fruits -try Cornus sericea, with its elegant clusters of white berries borne on crimson stems. And for added fiery colour, Nandina domestica really shines in the autumn light with its vibrant foliage and bright red berries.

However, fruits are not always guaranteed. Some species need male and female varieties in order for the flowers to produce berries. Check whether your chosen shrub is self-fertile and its specific planting requirements. For example, to get the desired orangey fruits of the sea buckthorn, Hippophae rhamnoides, plant female 'Leikora' and male 'Pollmix' varieties together.

Berries for cooking