ALMOST every time I look out of my bedroom window I see my garden’s resident bulbuls feasting on the eye-catching miniature ‘lanterns ‘ that are the fruits of my Hoslundia opposita bush.
Not surprisingly, this plant’s common name is orange bird berry. This indigenous plant really is a wonderful choice for anyone creating a bird-friendly garden – and humans enjoy the tasty fruit as well.
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A dainty little shrub with an attractive colour scheme, it would be a lovely addition to any garden, formal or informal. The soft, pastel green leaves and the small, creamy white flowers, which attract butterflies, are the perfect foils for the orange, lemon and lime coloured ribbed fruit.
The orange bird berry grows easily, although it might not be happy in a frosty area. Find it a nice sunny corner in a frost-free garden and it will flourish, rewarding the gardener with its pretty candy colours during the summer months. A real bird magnet, it will also enrich your garden with bird song.
Hoslundia opposita has another use. Its leave are said to repel bees and are used by honey collectors.
As the bulbuls gobble up the fruit it is nice to know that they are helping to disperse its seeds, perhaps planting these attractive wildlife-friendly shrubs in other gardens in my neighbourhood.
Unfortunately not all the seeds that fruit-eating birds spread around our neighbourhoods are beneficial to our environment. The pretty, red berried coral bush (Ardisia crenata), an invasive shrub from Asia, is a good example. If you are harbouring this illegal alien, uproot it before your avian visitors spread it further afield.
An attractive evergreen shrub that grows up to about 2m high, the coral bush has bright green lance-shaped leaves and clusters of white or pink flowers.
The striking coral-red fruit that makes this plants such a popular choice as an ornamental, occurs in drooping clusters.
According to the Invasive Species South Africa website, this attractive but undesirable plant competes with and has the potential to replace indigenous species, particularly in the under-storeys and margins of forests.
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