Native berries make great landscape statement

Well, the snow is coming, and from the usual platitudes of "it's so pretty" to the down-and-dirty endless shoveling, and shoveling and yet more shoveling — one really bright fact shines in all gardeners' minds: It's great mulch.

If you didn't get the leaves piled around your perennials, deep snow will do the job nicely for you. It covers, insulates and protects plants from freezing — as they surely would if they were bare and exposed to icy winds. That time of damage kills more plants than almost any other wintertime "pest," so snow really can be seen as a blessing.

Another thought that comes to mind is the fact that our native plants will certainly suffer no harm; they're used to all that a high-country winter can bring and next spring will rise from the crush of snow or the grip of ice — bright, perky and unscathed. The next few weeks of Weekend Gardner columns will discuss some of these hardy plants, particularly the berries. My reason is two-fold: To educate and to encourage the establishment of these treasures in our landscapes. 

Our local Kinnikinnick chapter of the Idaho Native Plant Society regularly presents information on such natives at its meetings, so I'll share some of the findings that I and others have uncovered — from fact to lore to practical advice. We begin today with my own article from some four years ago about the serviceberry.

No matter what you call the ubiquitous native shrub Amelanchier alnifolia — serviceberry, sarvesberry, Juneberry or Saskatoon berry — it's good for you.

Long a major ingredient in the Native American staple, pemmican — a mixture of dried berries, dried buffalo or venison and fat or suet — the prolific berries have generally been pretty much ignored here due to the abundance of the tastier, smaller-seeded huckleberry.

That's a mistake on our part, though, for the lowly serviceberry has been found to be significantly higher in levels of protein, fat, fiber, calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, barium and aluminum when compared to strawberries and blueberries, to an amazing degree.

Now before you say, "Yuck, they're so tasteless!" … consider that the site where they grow affects the flavor. I've long known that in some places, the serviceberries are absolutely delicious, and in others, well, they are blah. My three serviceberry shrubs are so old that they have literally become trees and their berries are very flavorful.

Though I make use of them only in hand, the birds come in droves to enjoy them, both in the late spring when they appear and in wintertime when they hang dried on the branches. This, by the way, is one of the best reasons to have serviceberries on your property.

I use all three of mine as bird sanctuaries, filled with hanging containers of black-oil sunflower seeds, suet blocks and little nesting pouches that afford protection for small birds in adverse weather conditions.

The shrubs/trees are pretty. They're practical for property enhancement, whether as windbreaks, hedges, cover-ups for fences or unsightly budling or simply as an ornamental to draw waxwings, grosbeaks, finches and a myriad of other berry-loving birds.

Beginning as shrubs, serviceberries grow into multi-stem trees with interesting bark, providing for a very special look in your landscape. They are available commercially in cultivars; inquire at area nurseries as to what they have on hand. Moonlake is considered the best for fruit processing by virtue of its smaller seeds. All serviceberries are good for incorporation into jams, pie fillings and fruit letters, but are not appropriate for jelly.

Serviceberries offer early spring blooms, fall colors, from gold to yellow-orange, light foliage that allows for understory plantings or establishment in dappled sunlight, non-aggressive roots that allow planting near most structures and good performance in a variety of soils and climates. It is a true paragon.

Editor's note: For many years, Valle Novak wrote gardening and cooking columns for the Daily Bee. "Weekend Gardener" and "Country Chef" became renowned for their humor, information, and common-sense advice on how to do everything from planting to cooking. She left behind many columns such as this one, originally published on Dec. 2, 2001, to delight her many fans.

    Beginning as shrubs, serviceberries grow into multi-stem trees with interesting bark, providing for a very special look in your landscape.
  

    Valle Novak