The cold, dark, rainy days of winter can bring on the blues now that our loved ones have gone home and the gifts have all been opened. Even in the winter our gardens can still bring us joy. Hollies can brighten a winter landscape with fabulous foliage and beautiful berries. They come in many shapes and sizes and the berries will attract birds to your garden. When you buy a holly, ask if it needs a pollinating mate to produce berries. The female has berries but needs a male for pollination. Hollies should be planted between November and March. Hollies like an acidic soil and benefit from yearly fertilization that shoul be done in the early spring. The American holly, Chinese holly, Foster's holly and Yaupon holly are among the most common producers of red berries.

Other trees and shrubs with red berries are nandina, pyracantha, hawthorn, chokeberry and certain viburnums. Two hawthorns noted for their excellent fruit displays are the Washington hawthorn and Winter King hawthorn. The Chindo viburnum and Nandina have bright red fruit in large clusters. Chokeberry and Winterberry are both deciduous native shrubs with red berries. Pyracantha has orange-red berries that persist into winter.
 

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