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Thursday, October 15, 2009

Pyracantha

Sometimes when I’m out and about I see something in a garden that makes me stop and catch my breath. I pride myself on my orange-berried pyracantha, which I team with bright pink nerines for a shocking colour contrast. I used to have a red pyracantha but it would be stripped of berries by the starlings by the end of October, so I invested in the orange one, which is much less popular with birds and retired the red one to the area around the pond where feathered fiends can pick off the berries to their heart’s content without ruining the view from my kitchen window.

It’s said that when the shrubs bear many winter berries, we’re in for bad weather, so this year is going to be particularly hard on wildlife, if this shrub is anything to go by – as I said, I pride myself on my pyracantha but this one leaves it standing – against an autumn blue sky it was positively dazzling.

Labels: autumn shrubs, pyracantha

The All Seasons Gardener at 9:41 AM

3 Comments:

At October 31, 2009 12:17 AM , Stopwatch Gardener said...: I was just thinking how absolutely loaded our sorbus is with berries -- was wondering if it was going to be a hard winter. I better renew my commitment to the birds! They help keep down the aphids on the increasing number of roses in my garden and I have to make myself remember them more diligently this winter!
At November 2, 2009 7:45 AM , The All Seasons Gardener said...: Exactly - we stopped feeding the birds in our garden two years ago, instead we try to provide 'natural' food with a pond, berries and fruiting plants, a log pile for beetles etc. That way we get a range of visitors all year round.
At November 22, 2010 1:53 PM , John Moore said...: I am a big fan of Pyracantha plants and thought I would see if your reasers would be interested in my website on Pyracantha, no sales rubbit just usefull information on Pyracantha.