Fall color is more than beautiful leaves. When designing your garden with fall in mind, consider shrubs that display wonderful berries. Not only are berrying varieties beautiful to look at, many provide food for birds. Here are a few great fall shrubs for berries:

Berberis thunbergii varieties: Japanese barberry, is a spiny, broad-rounded, deciduous shrub with obovate green to reddish-burgundy leaves, depending on the variety. A popular variety, 'Rose Glow' is a dense cultivar which grows 3'-6' tall. First leaves are purple, but new shoots emerge as a rose-pink mottled with bronzish to purplish red splotches. Leaves are of variable sizes. Many branched, reddish-brown stems have sharp thorns. 'Bagatelle' is a fantastic dwarf variety that is on the Great Plant Picks list. Tight low 1 foot mounds of cherry-red foliage cover this small shrub from early spring through the fall. A newer cultivar, 'Orange Rocket' is a 3-5 foot columnar form with vibrant coral-orange new foliage that ages to mid-green, then turns ruby red in autumn.

Tiny, yellowish flowers appear in late April to early May, but are often hidden by the foliage and are not considered showy. Bead-like, bright red berries form in fall and often last through the winter. The berries are attractive to birds. Leaves typically turn attractive shades of orange, yellow and red in fall. It is easily grown in average, medium, well-drained soil in full sun. Tolerates light shade, but needs full sun to produce best foliage color. A very hardy and adaptable shrub that is tolerant of many pollutants in urban areas. It also tolerates some drought, but will not do well in poorly drained, wet soils. The berries and leaves are edible having a bitter taste but it also has a hint of sweetness and tartness.  It's slightly too bitter to be something you would want to eat in handfuls. However, if you like to forage, you can get vitamin C and a slightly fruity flavor in the middle of winter when most other berries are past their prime, if the birds haven't gotten to them first. The colonists planted the European species (B. vulgaris) as a food source for jellies, often eaten with venison. Another plus is Japanese barberries are deer resistant.

'Rose Glow'	'Bagatelle'	'Orange Rocket'

Callicarpa bodinieri var. giraldii 'Profusion': A superb deciduous shrub valued for its display of abundant clusters of long lasting violet berries along the branches in fall. Berries hang on into early winter when the leaves are dropped for a gorgeous purple display. The clusters of berries are so intense, they don't look real. New growth has an exciting bronze tinge. Small purplish pink flowers appear in summer among the large green leaves. Prune in late winter to early spring to encourage new growth. Grows to 8 feet tall for a stunning display. Prefers full sun. Hardy.

Contoneaster lacteus: Parney cotoneaster is a large evergreen shrub growing to 13 ft tall and wide. Clusters of spring-blooming, white flowers are followed by masses of small, globose, red fruits in autumn. Unusual for this genus, the fruits are avoided by birds, hence garden escapes are rare and the fruit persists on the plant throughout the winter for a lovely display. The Latin specific epithet lacteus refers to the milk-white flowers. Use Parney cotoneater as a stand alone speciman, screen or a hedge. Takes full sun to part shade and can withstand heat, wind, smog, salt air, and poor soils. While it will do best with rich, well-drained soils, it can tolerate just about any site. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Come visit Primrose for your Halloween decorations. We carry wonderful witches and vampires, uniquely made by hand with fun, creepy details stitched in for a whimsical, spooky fun look to your Halloween party or trick-or-treat porch. Reusable cloth trick-or-treat bags, decoupaged tin buckets and paper mache containers are a fun addition to any decor. We also carry party accessories including a wonderful selection of seasonal napkins, party games and costume accessories. BOO!