Beautiful, festive and invaluable to wildlife, Christmas plants with berries have so many benefits in a winter garden.
Whether you’re looking to spruce up your front porch with Christmas plants that produce berries or you’re on the hunt for the berry-bearing shrubs for wildlife that boost your garden's Christmas aesthetic, too, fruiting plants are among the most festive and beautiful at this time of the year.
So, I thought I’d round up a list of the best Christmas plants with berries that guarantee beautiful displays over the holidays.
1. Mahonia
Gardening expert and author Sarah Raven is a keen advocate for adding bird-feeding plants to your garden, and mahonia is one of the very best Christmas plants with berries for both birds and winter colour.
‘The fern-like foliage of Mahonia ‘Volcano’ creates a lovely year-round interest,’ says Sarah. ‘It’s low-maintenance and provides vital food for birds at the toughest time of year.’
Mahonia is one of the best outdoor Christmas plants in general, in my opinion, and varieties like ‘Winter Sun’ flower over the festive period, too.
Where to buy mahonia:
- Thompson & Morgan: Mahonia x media 'Winter Sun', from £12.99, is one of the most popular Christmas varieties.
- Gardening Express: Buy Mahonia eurybracteata 'Meteor' in bud and bloom for £12.99.
2. Beautyberries
Beautyberries, also known as callicarpa berries, really do live up to their name: the purple berries are beautiful, and although they appear in autumn, they often stick around well into the winter months.
For the best displays, it’s worth planting beautyberries alongside other cold-loving plants.
‘By combining evergreen plants like conifers, magnolia, eucalyptus, boxwood, holly, and ivy with vibrant accents like pyracantha or callicarpa berries and colourful dogwood stems, you can create impressive winter container displays,’ says Julian Palphramand, head of plants at British Garden Centres.
Where to buy beautyberries:
- Crocus: Callicarpa bodinieri var. giraldii 'Profusion' produces vivid violet berries in the autumn which last over Christmas on most plants.
- Gardening Express: Callicarpa 'Pearl Glam' is another beautiful variety.
3. Skimmia
Skimmia is one of the best evergreen plants for garden borders thanks to its reliable glossy foliage, but its berries make it a showstopping Christmas plant, too.
‘If you want to add some visual interest to your winter garden and provide food for wildlife, consider incorporating plants with colourful berries,’ says Emma Fell, head of horticulture at Hillier Garden Centres. ‘For year-round evergreen elegance, you can't go wrong with skimmia.’
You’ll need to grow a male plant beside a female plant (which produces the berries) for the best displays.
Where to buy skimmia:
- Crocus: Skimmia japonica 'Redruth', £29.99, is a popular female variety.
- B&Q: Skimmia 'Rubella', £10.49, is a male variety, so it doesn't produce berries, but it's an important companion for female plants.
4. Holly
Of course, holly had to make my list of the best Christmas plants with berries, but that doesn’t mean it’s overhyped – it's a festive garden stalwart, with perfectly Christmassy berries and foliage.
‘Holly with its small bright red berries is especially good for birds to grab some energy and go,’ says Rebecca Bevan, the National Trust’s senior national specialist in environmental horticulture, and author of The National Trust Book of Nature Friendly Gardening.
Where to buy holly:
- Thompson & Morgan: Holly 'Alaska', from £12.99, is a traditional variety.
- Gardening Express: This pair of holly trees with contemporary white planters is perfect for a front porch, and you can grab them for £39.99 right now.
Rebecca Bevan has been a head gardener, an RHS horticultural adviser and has written for The Garden Magazine and The Telegraph. She has also been a contributor on BBC Gardeners' World and BBC Gardeners' Question Time. Rebecca currently works as the National Trust's senior national specialist in environmental horticulture.
5. Hawthorn
If you’re looking for plants that attract birds to your garden, hawthorn is another brilliant Christmas plant that produces berries in autumn, often retaining them well into the new year. The fruits are rich in antioxidants for birds, too.
‘Plants that produce berries, like hawthorn, are perfect for wildlife as they provide both food and shelter,’ says Chris Bonnett, gardening expert and founder of Gardening Express. ‘You can plant them now, as long as the ground isn’t frozen or waterlogged.’
Where to buy hawthorn:
- Thompson & Morgan: Buy as much or as little hawthorn hedging as you like, from 99p.
- B&Q: Order a 1-2ft bare-root hawthorn hedge for £20.99.
If you're looking to grow edible berries in your garden next year, there are plenty of unusual fruits you can grow here in the UK.
