At the Town and Country Garden Club’s annual plant sale on May 9, situated as always in front of The Inn at Newtown, native shrubs will be on sale along with roses, lilacs, member-grown perennials, shade trees, special gifts for Mother’s Day, and more.

The plants and shrubs which are in flower usually steal the show at the sale, but this year organizers of the annual sale are recommending a few of those fall-foliage-and-berry plants that beautify other seasons of the year. When winter returns, the birds will be grateful if you take their advice.

Spring is the season when most homeowners are moved to plant something. Often the plants we choose to enhance our yards are spring- or summer-flowering varieties because they bring quick gratification and showy color when we are outside to enjoy them. 

Consider, though, the colors that enhance late fall and winter. Consider too the birds. From May to November they can find food in abundance without human help. In the late fall and bitter winter months they need all the help they can get. For those who might be persuaded to plant something now for autumn rewards, Town & Country Garden Club member Joy Kopesky offers the following recommendations.

A favorite is the winterberry (ilex verticillata), also known locally as the black alder. This large, hardy shrub (which is sometimes seen in marshy or other undisturbed areas growing wild) has tiny white flowers in the spring, small leaves that turn yellow with red highlights when the frost comes, and after leaf fall sturdy red berries that shine in the December darkness. Plant this shrub near the driveway or road and let others enjoy those berries too — until the birds take them away in early January.

Another suggestion is the American cranberry (viburnum trilobum), a hardy shrub with white lace-cap spring flowers, lustrous leaves, nice fall color, and cranberry-red fruit that birds love. This bush is not a true cranberry; it can thrive almost anywhere in Newtown as long as it gets at least partial sun. Full sun enhances its fall color, which is true of all these shrubs.

The arrowwood viburnum (viburnum dentatum), another good choice for fall and winter interest, has white clusters of flowers which attract native butterflies and bees in the warm months. Its glossy leaves turn orange and red in the fall; its dark berry clusters attract the Eastern bluebird, Northern flicker, gray catbird, and American robin, among others. This variety of viburnum grows best in average soil in full to partial sun. It got its name because — so the story goes — Native Americans used the straight stems of this shrub for arrow shafts.

A good companion to the arrowwood viburnum is the red chokeberry (aronia arbutifolia), another hardy native which offers clusters of spring flowers, brilliant red fall color, and berries for the birds and us to enjoy. Because of its compact hardiness, red chokeberry is also recommended for planting in hedges or to help stop erosion. Note: Chokeberries are not interesting to birds until they have been frosted many times, so the berries last well into the late fall or early winter.

These four plants are native shrubs and locally available. A great deal has been written lately about using native plants, and rightly so.  Natives tend to reproduce in modest, not rampant, numbers so they live and let live alongside other plants.  They tend to require less care and fewer pesticides.

One of their greatest virtues is they support native wildlife, whereas many imported plants may be attractive to our birds and butterflies without providing any nourishment to them. Thus, natives give maximum worth for the cost and effort they require of us.