Article written by Gary Schneider

Many years ago, a friend suggested that I should become the Minister of Shrubbery. Of course, there was no such position. It was a laughable suggestion, especially when the concern was all about commercial species of trees, ones that you could make money from in the future.

I still giggle when I think of that, partly because saying it out loud sounds so weird. But over the decades I have come to suspect that the joke was actually cloaked in wisdom. Shrubs are incredibly important in our forests and perhaps our native shrubs deserve their own Minister. This large group of woody plants provides food and habitat for wildlife, creates shade that protects the soil and encourages the growth of plants that do well in shady conditions, increases resiliency, produces food and medicines for humans, and adds overall beauty to forests and other landscapes.

Let’s go over these benefits. Shrubs provide a wide range of food throughout the year. Some, such as willow and serviceberry, are highly prized by pollinators. The American fly honeysuckle is one of the first flowers available to feed migrating ruby-throated hummingbirds. Many native species – everything from the elderberries to the cherries – provide regular, heavy food crops that provide many types of wildlife with food during the summer months. Winterberry holly, American mountain ash, wild rose and other fruiting shrubs are important sources of winter food for waxwings and American robins. Other shrubs, such as beaked hazelnut, provide high protein nuts that help many mammals and birds get through the winter.

A winter Robin resting on highbush cranberry.

Shrubs also make the forest a more hospitable place for wildlife and smaller plants, whether that’s tree seedlings, other shrubs, or wildflowers. Their leaves reduce the wind in the stand and increase humidity levels.

Increased resiliency is another benefit from having shrubs in a forest. As mentioned, they protect the next generation of seedlings and saplings. In addition, more native plant diversity is a good thing, in that it gets away from having one or two species of plants in a forest that can be so susceptible to both insects and diseases.

The fuzzy red coating of staghorn sumac is the key component of Zaatar, a middle-Eastern spice mix that is becoming popular in Canada. The fruits of aronia are high in anti-oxidants, while chokecherries have long been used in jellies. Medicinally, witch hazel leaves and twigs yield oil of witch hazel, which is still popular as a liniment or tincture. The berries of common elder are used to strengthen the immune system, while both the berries and fruit of hawthorn are part of many medicinal tea mixtures.

As for beauty, one just has to look at a hobblebush or alternate-leaf dogwood in any season, a witch hazel blooming in September, the red fruits of wild rose or highbush cranberry adding colour to a winter landscape, or the showy spring blossoms of serviceberry to know that so many of our native shrubs are really a pleasure to behold. At Macphail Woods, we use all of these shrub species - and many more – in our forest restoration, landscaping, and schoolyard naturalization efforts. They are an important part of our efforts to improve diversity, resiliency, and wildlife habitat in the Island landscape, as well as making our province more beautiful.

The Macphail Woods native plant nursery opens for the season on Monday, April 28th. The hours of operation are 8am-4pm, Monday through Saturday until the fall.