Re: shrubs for shade, clay and birds
- To: s*@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
- Subject: Re: [SG] shrubs for shade, clay and birds
- From: R* D*
- Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2000 18:41:18 -0500
Diane, most native shrubs produce berries that taste good to birds. GO
NATIVE! by Carolyn Harstad, published by Indiana Univ. Press in 1999, has
a chapter on native shrubs. I edited the book and was so inspired by it
that I pulled out my non-native forsythias and started a biohedge--a mixed
native shrub border. I was just out looking at it and am happy to say it
seems to have survived the winter and last summer's drought. Virtually
all the native shrubs will take shade, so this should not be a problem. I
don't think they're fussy about clay either.
Very few gardening books pay much attention to shrubs, so I think this one
is worth calling attention to, even if I had something to do with it.
Harstad is a wonderful writer and a great photographer, and co-founder of
INPAWS, the Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society.
Cheers,
Bobbi
On Mon, 28 Feb 2000, Diane Sonneville wrote:
> I'm in zone 5 and need to find some shrubs for a shady area beneath oak
> trees. The ground is pretty much clay and they would get little direct
> sun. I can build up an area around the base of the shrub which would be
> better soil but the roots would likely still be in the clay. I would
> also like these shrubs to have berries appetizing to birds and to be
> native to my area (Illinois/Midwest).
