This bush has such beautiful colours that for a very long time I was using a photo of it as my banner here. Later on I changed to the one and only Furry Majesty.
Berberis thunbergii
It is a deciduous (will lose the leaves for winter) plant native to Japan and east Asia. It grows quite fast and needs to be trimmed to keep a nice and compact shape. Long twigs that show up every year are covered in very sharp thorns, which is a bit annoying if you want to pass it by in shorts ;)
The bush is often used in public spaces along the paths or as decoration on lawns. It doesn't require much maintenance and looks nice all year round.
The tiny (less than 1 cm across) flowers show up in spring, and they are absolutely loved by all kinds of insects. I have previously photographed a few types of bees and bumblebees around them. On a sunny and calm day, you can hear a mild buzzing sound around the bush. That's all the little guys trying to get some nectar before the flowers are gone, which will happen before the summer arrives.
The red berries are edible (apparently bark and leaves too) and even though there are few large bushs in our garden, we don't pick them. In winter they are slowly picked by birds.
Propagation is easy through cuttings, and this is how my mum got hers. A young peace of stem will root if put to the soil and kept moist. Dipping the tip in a rooting hormone helps, but it is not necessary.
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See how lovely it is with the dark leaves and light yellow flowers?
I looked for some older photos I took at different times of the year. In the fall it will change to more orange colours. The flowers will be long gone, but the vivid red berries will decorate the bush. And it will look like this:
And then in winter, when all the leaves finally fall only berries and sharp thorns are left:
Shot with Nikon D5500 + Sigma 105mm lens
All photos and text are my own.
