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[tanis cuff <tanistanis@hotmail.com>]

Lonicera t. has spread (via seeds) everywhere and there seems to be no 
stopping it without continual work, so I don't know how much I want to worry 
about this.  But it is an invasive exotic species which wrecks the native 
plant communities in which it thrives.

As I watched catbirds wrestle 1/2 ripe, bright red berries off my 
Amelanchiers' first really good crop, and then the robins came and fought 
over the remaining berries which began to turn purlpe, I looked around for 
other ripening fruit-- for birds OR people!

Ripe about the same time were red currants, mulberries (yes, M.alba is exotic 
& somewhat invasive, but not as bad as honeysuckle), red elderberry-- 
Sambucus pubescens, black raspberries, and I'll probably think of a couple 
more after hitting send.

tc, sWI, ecologically Kathryn's neighbor 


________________________________

From: kathmath
To: nafex
Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:22:10 -0500
Subject: [NAFEX] birds & cherries

Those of you with small fruit gardens (I hesitate to call mine an orchard) 
containing tart cherries may want to consider planting a honeysuckle bush 
(Lonicera tartarica 'Arnold Red').  This year I didn't net my cherry tree 
because due to lack of bees early in the spring, I didn't have much fruit.  I 
figured I'd just let the birds have what little fruit there was.  Much to my 
surprise, after some initial sampling, the birds, including robins, have left 
it alone and spent most of their time eating the fruit of the honeysuckle, 
which ripens just a bit earlier and stays on until the birds have picked it 
clean.  Maybe they prefer the honeysuckle berry because it's smaller and 
easier to eat.  One of the reasons I planted 'Arnold Red' in the first place 
was because it is a fairly narrow, upright shrub (10' tall x 6' wide), tough 
and hardy, fast growing, and usually blooms after the apples and before the 
roses.  It has definitely "earned it's space" in my small garden now that I 
know it will also keep the birds from eating my cherries!

Kathryn Mathews
Southern Minnesota



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