1 Strawberry tree
ARBUTUS UNEDO
ZONES 7 TO 10
This slow-growing evergreen shrub or small tree is native to western Europe and thrives in warmer climates. The glossy leaves, white flowers, and red berries or drupes provide interest in every season. Harvest the fruit in autumn and use it in jams and jellies. Be careful: It bruises easily.
Why we love it: Pollinators enjoy the nectar, and small mammals and birds are attracted to the high sugar content in the fruit.
2 Bunchberry
CORNUS CANADENSIS
ZONES 2 TO 6
Common in forests throughout Canada and the northern United States, this spreading ground cover is a great choice for gardens in cool climates. Features include glossy green leaves that transition to red and purple in the fall and small white flowers that give way to clusters of berrylike drupes that ripen in August and last until fall.
Why we love it: Rabbits and deer steer clear of this plant.
3 Lingonberry
VACCINIUM VITIS-IDAEA
ZONES 2 TO 7
This creeping evergreen shrub forms dense mats, but it's not the leatherlike oval leaves that make it popular; it's the red edible berries that appear twice a year. Eaten raw, the fruits have a bitter taste, but they make an ideal replacement for cranberries when cooked (hence the alternate moniker, northern mountain cranberries).
Why we love it: Lingonberries are superfruits and have the highest antioxidant content of all berries.
4 Common winterberry
ILEX VERTICILLATA
ZONES 3 TO 9
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Sense or Nonsense? - Why some birds can taste and smell - but others can't
Does a porcelain berry taste like a blueberry to a gray catbird? Does a block of lard smell like frying bacon to a northern flicker? The short answer is no. While some avian species do have a well-adapted sense of taste or smell, they can't distinguish between flavors and odors the way humans can. They're not picking up every ingredient in the suet you put out, says José Ramírez-Garofalo, an ornithology researcher at Rutgers University in New Jersey and the director of Freshkills Biological Station in Staten Island, New York.
Maple Mania - Amazing facts about this fall foliage mainstay
Amazing facts about this fall foliage mainstay
Food-Focused and Fierce - Meet Canada jays and learn why they eat almost anything they can find
Even if you haven't heard of Canada jays, you've heard of their relatives. Members of the corvid family, they belong to the same group as American crows, blackbilled magpies, and jays including blue, Steller's and scrub. "Unlike many of the other jays, a Canada jay doesn't have a crest of any kind; it just has a rounded head," says Dale Gentry, director of conservation for Audubon Upper Mississippi River.In 2018, the Canada jay's name was changed from gray jay, but Dale thinks the former adjective was fitting. "Most of its body is shades of gray with some white," he says. "There are different subspecies that have different physical traits, but most of them have some lighter coloring on their foreheads, upper breasts and throats, each with a darker streak that starts at each eye and goes back."
IN GOOD COMPANY
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Red-Hot Plants
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