Photo Fridays: Beautyberry

A few days ago I was standing at the kitchen sink, washing dishes and sort of daydreaming.  Above the sink there is a small bay window looking out into the back yard.  Many times during this regular chore I have seen interesting things outside, including rabbits, deer and fawns, owls, many kinds of songbirds, squirrels, raccoons, tortoises, and of course the many neighborhood dogs who pay a visit to our pool.  On this particular day I noticed that the beautyberries around the compost pile have suddenly ripened.  The purple color is so intense that the clusters of small berries caught my eye.

American beautyberry is a shrub native to Texas and the rest of the U.S. South.  It grows wild around our property.  We don't do anything to maintain it, yet it keeps coming back and entertaining us with its show of berries each fall.  I've read that some birds love the berries, though I haven't seen any birds eating them myself.  Admittedly, I haven't spent a lot of time watching the shrubs for birds, though.  I hope it is true because we try to give the local wildlife as many native things to eat as possible.  I would rather the birds fill up on beautyberries in the fall than our cherry tomatoes!

Regardless, I love the plants for their aesthetic value.

They earn their name, don't they?

Have a lovely weekend.