Suburban Beauty

The blooms of May continue, as the American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) bushes on the north side of the house begin to flower.

I wrote about our beautyberry bushes last fall, when I discussed the various shrubs that grow on the north side of our house. It's a good time to point out that the beautyberry bushes are one of the few plants in My Florida Backyard that seemed to love the cold winter this year. They are much fuller and bushier, especially after a hard pruning in late February. Beautyberry bushes can get rather leggy and scraggly looking if you aren't pretty stringent with a pruning in late winter, but ours are doing well and have almost doubled in size and fullness since last fall.


Beautyberry flowers and the subsequent berries grow at the junction where leaves meet stem. The blooms are not particularly fragrant or showy, and don't seem to be be a big nectar draw like some others, but they're very pretty up close.

This native shrub is a real trooper and one of our personal favorites. It's a shame these aren't more widely available outside native plant nurseries; it's extremely difficult to kill and grows in a wide variety of conditions. If you're looking for a low-maintenance shrub with a natural feel, you can't miss with American Beautyberry.