#cotoneaster — Public Fediverse posts

#Cotoneaster #berries. They're similar to firethorn plants but are thornless with serated leaf margins. Their flowers & fruits are toxic for humans but have excellent #WildlifeValue.
These are #larval food plants for several insects. Their flowers attract many #pollinators. Their fruits are eaten by multiple birds - blackbirds especially love eating these berries in Winter.
It's been cultivated by landscapers for wildlife value & soil erosion prevention. It's grown in many public & private areas around here - I see it almost everywhere. Birds have spread their seeds afar.

I don't know which variety of cotoneaster this is - there are a lot of varieties.

Spotted at Burnside Medical Clinic parking lot.

#PlantID #botanical #nature #Saanich #horticulture #VictoriaBC #plants #landscaping #VancouverIsland #VanIsle #PacificNorthwest #PNW #shrubs #hedges #PoisonousForHumans

#Brick Thing one year in...

Getting #moss established generally around the base.

Front middle is a compact ajuga, that may be too spready, but time will tell...

Middle left is Sicilian #mint, which is also quite aggressive but v. low growing.

Middle right, in the cavity, is a small harts tongue #fern, that's looking happy there...

On the top, I went with a #cotoneaster in the end. I wanted a tree rather than a shrub, but in a year I didn't get a suitable seedling, so cotoneaster it is, and to be fair it will #bonsai well. Long term plan is, as it grows, to lower the soil level in the tower and develop some exposed, #gnarly #roots

There's also stonecrop (front right) and a small rosetted house leek (out of sight round the back...)