An open meadow is transformed when the crabapples bloom.  

Malus ‘Prairifire’ (Crabapple) is a medium-sized flowering landscape tree with a rounded head for full sun, preferring moderately wet soil. (The trees in these photos are planted along the edge of a natural streambed running through a wide open meadow.) ‘Prairifire’ is one of the best crabapple trees for the southeast, resisting many of the usual problems that Malus is known for. The April flowers are followed by masses of small crabapple fruits that persist into fall, a favorite fruit for birds.  

Crabapples are effective in mass plantings, but because they are considered smaller landscape trees, they are also a good choice for patio trees, or specimens for the front yard. 

A chart from NCSU showing the best crabapple trees for the landscape can be found here. 

Berries now: Callicarpa americana (American Beautyberry). This rounded, bushy shrub is a great selection for the shade garden with a natural setting. Graceful wands, bearing hundreds of purple berry-like pearls, line the stems in September and October. This variety is the more compact and tidier of the Beautyberry plants available in the southeast. A deciduous shrub, it combines well with the evergreen Autumn Fern and golden Acorus grass. 

Yesterday’s pleasure: we did a complete overhaul of a Certified Wildlife Habitat for one of my clients. Here is a little gift I left in her birdbath, containing a few of the treasures I collected during our clean-up: oakleaf hydrangea, American Beautyberry, and native pine cones.

The National Wildlife Federation website tells you how you can get your own garden “certified.”