Beauty doesn't always come early.
Beautyberry (Callicarpa) would not catch your eye in the springtime, like the bright jonquils or forsythia.
It doesn't send out a fragrance like our beloved lilacs and roses.
In fact, the blossoms are so unremarkable, you might pass right by it at the nursery.
The tiny blossoms turn into clusters of tiny green berries that continue to go unnoticed.
Ah, but in late summer and early fall! In late summer, when there is that first hint of coolness in the morning air, the berries ripen to a beautiful purple that practically shouts, LOOK AT ME!
If the berries remain until frost kills the leaves, they are even more striking. The birds who visit me like them so well, the berries are usually gone before the leaves.
Planting beautyberries is just one way of rewarding the birds that brighten our summer days. Yesterday, I walked out on the deck and saw four cardinals in this bush. Fantastic!
....and the man in charge drank some of the water that had now turned into wine. He did not know where the wine had come from, but the servants did. He called the bridegroom over and said, "The best wine is always served first. Then after the guests have had plenty, the other wine is served. But you have kept the best until last!" John 2:9-10 CEV
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