A Pretty Late Fall Bonus

The Barberry bushes that we planted several years ago along the garage wall are beautiful for most of the summer, but especially nice in the fall. They contrast starkly with the blue-gray cedar siding, and I love their graceful form. In order to have them look like this each year we have to cut them back severely in the spring, and the thorns on these branches are evil.

The most difficult part is to find a place to put the cuttings, as they are deadly to come upon. We try to put them down along the creek, in a place where we don't often visit. There you could find the spent remains of several cacti that we've parted with, several years of barberry prunings, some juniper trimmings, and all the other difficult to handle botanical castoffs of our yard.