And here is certain proof that autumn is on its way. My pyracantha are all in different stages of ripening the berries. This bright reddish-orange one is the furthest advanced. Both the true red and the paler orange are still in the swelling stage.
The birds adore these berries; especially the blackbirds. Once food becomes a little more scarce, these berries will be systematically stripped, beginning with the bush furthest from the house and gradually moving closer, until they are feeding from the one directly outside my patio door. It's fascinating to watch. A single blackbird can strip a whole section of bush in next to no time - peck, swallow, peck, swallow, peck, swallow... a berry with every nod of the head! Each bird, a berry stripping robot.
My friend calls these plants Firethorns. I love the name. It fits so well. The berries are like little drops of fire while, each year, I don my thickest oldest sweatshirt and battle the thorns to prune back the straggly growth. I always win, but only at great personal cost!
Brilliant bushes that sure earned the name.
ReplyDeleteHow beautiful they are! I am afraid that fall is coming faster than I would like. I noticed that the aspen were starting to turn this morning...
ReplyDeleteI love this bush - perhaps this is the year that I'll plant one - for me and for the birds.
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