Fortunately, enjoying a spray of holly berries in an autumn wreath is not dependent on whether or not you know they are actually multi-seeded drupes. Let’s leave such pedanticism to hard-working botanists, and instead work with the commonly held definition of berries as small, often very colorful fruits that adorn the branches of some of our most beloved shrubs and small trees.

If a quick scan of your garden proves you to be sporting a severe deficit in that department –I’d like to change that with a few suggestions for fall planting.

Callicarpa - The common name beautyberry describes the many species of this purple, white and pink-berried genus with precision; and though I love the darker foliage of some hybrids such as ‘Pearl Glam’ & ‘Purple Pearls’ and enjoy them in flower, I do not find the berrying to be as abundant as that of our native C. americana or non-native (and gracefully arching) C. dichotoma. Self-fertile.

Celastrus - Bittersweet is a fall favorite – if also a high maintenance choice for the gardener. The long, girdling, woody vines and scarlet red berries sheathed in papery yellow packaging can make wreath-makers out of the most reluctant among us. But take note: Oriental bittersweet (C. orbiculatus) is invasive and gardeners are urged by those that urge to choose C. scandens, our native species, when buying (you’ll need male and female plants). Got some and not sure which it is? The American species holds its berries in terminal clusters where Oriental species sprout copious berries along the leaf axils.

Cornus - The red berries adorning our common Florida dogwood (C. florida) are some of the brightest of winter, but they don’t take well to being brought inside on a severed limb (I’ve tried). Instead, enjoy them outside and if you’re planting a new dogwood, find a place with a generous amount of morning sun to encourage those blooms and berries without leaf scald. C. kousa also fruits well and edibly, but the rough-skinned pink fruits rarely last through September. If you can get them past the deer, redosier dogwood (C. sericea) bear bluish-white berries in late summer which can last into fall. Self-fertile.

Ilex -Most people are familiar with the evergreen boughs of American or English hollies, but many assume that the heavily berried, leafless stems seen in wreaths must be florist magic. They’re not – they’re cultivars of the species Ilex verticillata and they’ll add much to your garden and arrangements. I’m particularly fond of the generous tight clusters in ‘Winter Red’ and ‘Winter Gold’ but you’ll need a male cultivar that matches bloom time for the female you’ve chosen (in this case ‘Southern Gentleman’). Sadly, the male plants are not much to look at, but at least you’ll only need one for up to ten plants. For those two winter girls look for ‘Southern Gentleman.’

Lindera - A prolific native in our part of the world, spicebush decorates the edges of woodlands and other part-shade areas with grace and color. Tight clusters of chartreuse blossoms are some of the earliest signs of an awakening landscape, and birds love those fall berries. So do foragers – who use them in peppery dry-rubs and adventurous ice creams. Though the berries start to redden by late August in the Mid-Atlantic, they come into their own when spicebush leaves brightly yellow and begin to fall, and are found more heavily on plants that receive a good amount of sunshine in moist soils. This is also a male/female party, so be aware when you buy.

Pyracantha - I grew up with a pyracantha scrambling up our stone chimney in California and fought the thorns each November to bring heavily berried branches in to drape over the Thanksgiving table. Here in the East, I still consider it a fall staple – though I am aware that hardiness can be marginal if not in a sunny location in very free-draining soil. ‘Mohave’ now scrambles up my barn, and I grow ‘Silver Lining’ for its variegated foliage in a mixed border. Flowering (on old wood) is showy, if malodorous, and the resulting berries ripen in September and persist well into winter. Self-fertile (an understatement).

Viburnum - So many species and cultivars, so little time. Viburnum is a large shrub that sometimes holds its own as a specimen, and is sometimes better growing within a mixed border where it doesn’t have to be everything to everyone. For berries, my very favorite has to be the orange red clusters of V. dilatatum ‘Asian Beauty’ but next on the list are the deep reds of ‘Cardinal Candy.’ V. nudum ‘Brandywine,’ is a true stunner with pink purple berries to match pink-tinged foliage. V. trilobum, or American cranberrybush viburnum is a native miracle in the landscape – bringing rich, reddish orange foliage to fall with those equally rich bracts of berries – but boy do I have to fight the deer on this one. Viburnum is self-fertile, but growing more than one ensures a better fruit set.

Other genera to explore - Aronia, Cotoneaster, Skimmia, Crataegus – and if you can expand the already dodgy definition of ‘berry’ to include the equally dodgy one of ‘fruit’ – hip-forming species of rose, such as Rosa rugosa, the tiny crabapples of some malus species, and poncirus for dramatic crops of tiny yellow oranges held between beautifully lethal spines.