Jewels of winter colour

As you can read in our last blog on winter flowering plants, this needn't be a time when your garden loses interest. Along with winter bloomers, fruit bearing trees and shrubs can bedeck your garden with jewel bright berries, attracting overwintering birds and lifting the spirits in these chilly months.

Bright berries of Malus × robusta 'Red Sentinel', hanging like radiant winter cherries.

If you only have space for one tree in smaller gardens, you'll be continually glad of a crab apple (Malus spp.). Their generous clusters of fruit create incredible natural decorations at this time of year. The cherry-like berries remain on the branch long after their leaves have fallen, catching the eye and our breath. Better still, in spring they'll reward you with rich bouquets of pink buds that open into white or blush blossom. Whole stems and branches can be cut to create winter or spring wreathes if you're feeling crafty, and the culinary minded might even use these pectin rich fruits to create a tart crab apple jelly that goes beautifully with lamb, pork, game and rich cheeses.

A blackbird feeding on this hawthorn tree’s red berries in February. © David Hawgood

It's important to remember that many berries are poisonous to humans, and certainly worth cautioning children on this. Evergreen foliage tends to carry red berries, like the traditional Christmas holly. Red contrasts beautifully with the deep green leaves and is the most attractive colour for birds, who eat the energy rich pith and distribute the inedible seeds. Including a range of fruit baring plants in your garden will provide a continuing show of natural decorations, as birds tend to feed on the red berries first, followed by the pink, purple, orange and white varieties later.

The beautiful purple fruits of Callicarpa bodinieri

Hawthorn trees have a beautiful, eye catching habit and clusters of red berries that can grow as large as crab apples on some varieties. For a thornless species we recommend Crataegus pinnatifida. Or, to introduce a more surprising colour, Callicarpa bodinieri has magnificent mauve berries which shine against its deep purple autumn leaves and remain on the bare branches throughout the coldest months.

Red and orange Pyracantha spp. planted together along the boundary wall of a front garden in Tufnell Park.

Berberis and Pyracantha are both attractive fruit bearing shrubs whose dense, prickly growth works brilliantly when planted on a boundary to add security to your property. Berberis cultivars all carry fragrant orange yellow blossom in spring, and we love the peachy berries of Berberis wilsoniae that last long after the leaves have fallen. Pyracantha 'Orange Glow', commonly known as 'firethorn', forms plentiful white flowers in summer that transition into bright orange autumn and winter berries. Their flavour isn't the most favoured by birds which means that they're left on the branch until other nearby fruits are eaten, giving you a long-lasting blaze of colour.

Stunning pink berries of the rowan tree Sorbus pseudohupehensis. © Peganum

Rowan tree berries come in a huge variety of colours, including white, pink, orange and red. We love the way that Sorbus koehneana's white berries guarantee you a 'white Christmas' with or without snow, while Sorbus pseudohupehensis 'Pink pagoda' carries clusters of pink berries that rival any winter flowering cherry.

The rowan tree Sorbus koehneana's white berries shine brightly against a dark winter sky.

Even if you don't have space to introduce new shrubs or trees to your garden, you can plant stunning flashes of brightly coloured fruit in window boxes and planters using species like the holly-coloured Gaultheria procumbens 'Big Berry'; small varieties of Skimmia Japonica; Pernettya mucronata, which fruits in white red and pink; and even Vaccinium for your own home-grown cranberries.

Skimmia japonica 'Kew White' is a low growing shrub that looks fantastic in pots to brighten a shady corner.

Follow us on Instagram to see pictures of all our favourite winter flowers and fruits, along with examples of how structure, seed heads and grasses can all contribute to brilliant winter garden design.