A Riot of Red
But is all well?
GARDENINGFLORA AND FAUNA AND THE FOREST WORLD
2/13/20253 min read
Mid February, and all colour has been drained from the landscape. Even the weather seems to be depressed, for at the moment we are surrounded by heavy skies and rain. Of course, there is still pleasure to be had from the mauves and greys of the clouds and the dark mountains beyond.
But I don't have to go searching for colour, seeking out the shy violets that are peeping from their beds of green, or the first yellow flowers on the genista. For outside our balcony window we are greeted with a riot of colour. Red berries are everywhere. It is the skimmia shrub, which happily seeds itself in little rocky crevices , and bears sweet white flowers in spring. But best of all, it is evergreen and in winter it is laden with red berries.
So, why worry?
When I feast my eyes on this lovely display , I cannot help but worry. For at this time of year the bush should be full of birds, and little by little the berries should be diminishing, until very soon there are very few left. So why are our skimmia bushes still overflowing with bounty this year? For sure, if I peer down from the balcony I can spot birds flitting amongst their branches. Chiefly the great tits and the blue tits who flock to our fat balls, and very soon should take over our nesting boxes once more. I can also see a chaffinch or two . But where are the blackbirds who normally visit us, to greedily gorge on our berries at this time of year? They are nowhere to be seen. We used to see robins a plenty too; redstarts; black caps; dunnocks; and the occasional wren. Where are they all? It is a mystery. Much as I enjoy the skimmia berries, I would prefer to see them being eaten by the birds.
