Fountains and Pottery South Florida

Published: December 12, 2018, 11:24am | Modified: June 19, 2019, 1:55pm

One of the best ways to attract local wildlife to your garden is to plant native trees and shrub that they like to eat or nest in. Here are two options to help bring birds to your garden.

Simpson’s Stopper

Simpson’s Stopper (Myrcianthes fragrans) is a Florida native that will look lovely in any garden at any time of the year. Its evergreen leaves give off a spicy or citrusy scent when crushed and it also provides visual interest as the outer bark also breaks off to show new growth in a different shade of color from pale chartreuse to deep wine. It can grow up to 20 feet tall in the right growing conditions in Florida. There is a dwarf variety available too, referred to as ‘Compacta’ which reaches 5 feet tall and is perfect for smaller landscapes. Flowering occurs generally in spring, between April and May in Florida. The fragrant, beautiful white flowers bring in the pollinators and are followed by orange to red berries in late summer to early fall.

Beautyberry

Beautyberry (Callicarpa species) is the ideal fast-growing shrub for Southeastern Florida native gardens. These can also reach about 4 feet in height. In the spring, this shrub has delicate pink flowers that grow at the junction where leaves meet the stem. This eventually gives way to the ultimate showstopper: bunches of purple berries in the late summer and autumn. The berries last well into winter even when the leaves are gone, or until the birds finish off the last clusters of berries. Beautyberry is a source of color in the winter landscape.