Carol Klein’s favourite berries

Autumn and winter are the hardest seasons for most animals, when birds and small mammals need to build up their strength, and berries are a prime source of protein and fat.

We humans, especially those of us of a gardening persuasion, may enjoy eating berries and other fruit, but their primary attraction is their aesthetic quality – their colour and form. Although most of us incorporate some evergreens into our gardens, the majority of the trees and shrubs we grow are deciduous, and it’s at the stage when these woody plants are losing their leaves, or have already done so, that berries come into their own.