Winter Is Berry Time

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 142, 18 June 1938, Page 14 (Supplement)

Winter Is Berry Time

Garden Notes

WHITE is a colour by no means! conspicuous in the fruits of hardy shrubs, and, with the possible exception of the North American snowberry, Symphoricarpus racemosus, white-berried shrubs do not appear to play an important part in the autumn decoration of the majority of gardens. The reason may be that, as flowering shrubs, they claim no great beauty. Hut that is a drawback not confined to these particular shrubs, and, considering the delightful colour schemes which may result from associating white berries with the many and varied red berries, the scarcer blue and yellow berries, to say nothing of the varied foliage tints which the autumn season go lavishly provides, one may feel justified ill thinking that their omission leaves the garden much the poorer. These shrubs form quite a small group, it is true (which fact in itself would appear to urge freer planting), but they possess great diversity in habit, and thus serve to fill many varied situations. One of the most engaging of the group is the semi-evergreen native New Zealand shrub, hyinenanthera crassifolia. Wherever it is grown, however, it stands out very conspicuously among other berried shrubs during the autumn and winter months, by reason not only of its pretty white, black-spotted fruits, but also of its interesting habits of growth. In general this is dense and compact, the stiff, cylindrical or somewhat angular branches disposing themselves in an almost horizontal manner, the lower ones extending a good deal further t':an those above. The result is a specimen | of a somewhat flattened hemispherical shape of some three feet in stature. The leaves, which alternate on the stiff branches, are thick and leathery, well meriting the specific name, crassifolia. Tn shape they are oval to rounded or slightly notched at the apex and tapering at the l>ase into very short stalks. In^the axils of these leaves the almost stalkless flowers make their during the later spring and summer, but while = tliev are freely borne their decorative value is negligible, both by reason of their smallness and the fact that manv of them appear on the undersides of the branches.

It is towards autumn that tlie vali"* ■it this liymt'iianthera bocomes apparent. My tlien tlie berries are ripening, and if from their habit of crowdino- along tlic undersides of the branches they are not quite so conspicuous as they would otherwise be, though the partial leaf fall is in this respect an advantage, the little white, black-spotted balls are nevertheless very decorative and render the shrub highly desirable for rather warm positions of the rock garden in light soil.

Another white-fruit shrub of considerable beauty is margyic-irpus setosus, variously known as pearl fruit and pearl berry. This low-»rowing little evergreen from the mountain sides of Chile is likewise well adapted for the rock garden, where it will succeed in either sun or part shade, though perhaps full exposure is to be preferred. A light dry soil, well-drained, is to its liking. The flowers of M. setosus are quite inconspicuous, being partly hidden by the elegant dark green pointed foliage

wliicli adorns tlu> much-branched heathlike stems. It is when the fruits have formed that the shrub is seen at its gayest: the more so when planted so that the growths can rest on some darkcoloured stone, for then the numerous little pearl-like fruits stand out in even greater relief. This species may not be fully hardy everywhere, but it is readily raised from cuttings struck during the summer months and by sowing the berries in spring in pots of soil or in a frame. Then in the genus symphoricarpus there are several very showy shrubs with white fruits. The best known is undoubtedly the North Amei ican snowberry, S. recemosus. It will thrive in poor soil and in shady places under trees. In any case, its decorative value for the autumn and winter garden is of no mean order, for while the flowers, again, are not ornamental, the cargoes of white fruits are wonderfully brilliant and contrast well witli those of other colours. Also to be included in this group is pernettya nmcronata, one of 'lie best dwarf-growing berried shrubs available, neat and evergreen in habit, pretty in flower, and prettier still in fruit. For the small garden and for rock banks this is particularly suited, though it should be given shelter from rough iviiuls. A soil composed of either peat or turfy loam well suits this little shrub, whose stiff branches are clothed with small bright, glossy green leaves, and ill the later spring a mass of small white bell-shaped flowers make their appearance. These are succeeded in autumn by a goodly crop of bright berries. There are many forms with variously coloured fruits, but reference is here | made, of course, only to the white-1 fruited form. Tf the fruits of meny of I (lie (!aultherins are variable in colour, one or two species bear them sufficiently white to warrant inclusion here. One lis (!. oppositifolia, sin engaging shniblet of upright growth, its wiry stems clothed with shiny green leaves, and. while the somewhat pitcher-shaped blossoms are not very showy, the dense clusters of globular white berries give a very bright effect during the later year. It is true that they sometimes shade to light cream, but with that slight transition few would quarrel.