We are just a couple of days until the end of summer. I know it isn’t September 22nd, but if college football starts, the neighborhood pool closes and we participate in Labor Day activities, summer is over.

It has been a pretty tough summer on landscapes. We had a week of 80-degree days in February then March 13th blasted us with temps in the upper teens to lower 20s. In June, temperatures stayed in the 100s for a week with no rain. And the rest of the summer has been hot, humid, dry, wet, medium hot, more humid, mild and back to humid.

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Plants are worn out. I am seeing a lot of leaves falling off of hardwoods which is somewhat normal. Untreated leaf spots on plants like hydrangeas and crape myrtles are beating the leaves up. But when one season end, there is reason to celebrate the next. 

My buddy, The Dink, sent me a picture asking me to identify a plant that he saw that is loaded with purple berries. I love when I can identify something without having to look it up and was glad to get to see one of my favorite native plants showing its flare.

I actually planted three of these gems in my yard this past spring and mine are starting to show signs that they are about to berry. What is the plant you ask? I want to now share with you…. the American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana). It is a good one. 

The American beautyberry is deciduous perennial shrub that produces showy purple fruits in the fall. It is actually a member of the mint family and is native from Texas and Oklahoma, over to Virginia and down all the way into Cuba.

In Augusta, it sneaks into the landscapes by birds eating the berries and dropping them into the understory of plants. Beautyberries do well in full sun, but can handle some shade. The berries are more prolific with more sun. This native shrub does well in all types of soils and will stay in the 3-6-foot range in size. American beautyberry is also relatively pest resistant. 

In the spring and early summer, clusters of small flowers form on the stems. The result of these blooms leads to most amazing color of purple berries that develop from August through October which can last into early winter.

The fruits are a good food source for lots of songbirds and mammals like fox, raccoons, squirrels and deer. Although not very appetizing straight off the plant, beautyberries are not poisonous and supposedly make for great jam. 

In your personal landscape, beautyberry isn’t always the prettiest plant, but does have a nice form. I like to place it in an area that is mixed with evergreens so the purple berries really stand out nicely in the fall.

It is good for both massing and individual specimen plants. This plant is also great for adding color to children’s gardens, butterfly and pollinator gardens and plants for winter interest. 

Fall means planting time, so if you can find a beautyberry at a local nursery or have one on the edge of the wood, find a place in the landscape for this great native plant. And maybe learn a new recipe for beautyberry jam.

Reach Campbell Vaughn, the UGA Agriculture and Natural Resource agent for Richmond County, by e-mailing augusta@uga.edu.