Common winterberry, Ilex verticillata, is a worthwhile addition to any birdwatcher’s garden. The fruit feeds many species of birds, including American robin, eastern bluebirds and bluejays. The plant ...

Looks like: Common Winterberry can grow 5- to 15-feet tall. The bark is smooth and gray to black in color. The branches grow toward the top of the tree in a zig-zag pattern. Its leaves are simple, ...

This is a particularly good year for gathering common winterberry for the holidays.Ilex verticillata, also known as Michigan holly and black alder, is a bush most often found growing wild in swampy ...

Last summer, I delighted in watching my robin friends use our raspberry bushes like runways. As one swooped in to gobble up a berry that seemed almost too big for its beak, another was departing the ...

You must have noticed it growing alongside the back roads in the wet areas - it's that intermingled mass of leafless branches that are just loaded with brilliant red berries. This shrub is definitely ...

Simple and elegant, that's nature's style for decking the outdoors for the Christmas holiday. Over the next few weeks, we are going to look over her ''nice'' list for this honor. This week, it's the ...

With Christmas just around the corner, preparations for the big day are in full swing. Just last weekend I visited my parents’ house in South Amherst and I participated in a new activity: card making.

Looks like: A moderate-sized shrub (5 to 15 feet tall). The bark is smooth and grey. Branches grow in a zigzag pattern, with a spreading crown. Leaves are sharply toothed, smooth, and oblong. Leaves ...

While Christmas holly originates across the Atlantic, our region has two native holly species of which to boast – and they do ...