The Captivating Spring-Blooming Shrub That'll Fill Your Yard With Birds & Butterflies

If you're looking to add some vibrant color to your garden but also want a plant that'll fill your yard with birds and butterflies, there's one captivating spring-blooming shrub that should be on your radar. The American cranberrybush (Viburnum trilobum) is a wonderful native deciduous shrub that will fill your garden with interest from spring right through to winter. Also known as the American Viburnum, it thrives in USDA plant hardiness zones 2 through 7. The showy white lace cap blooms appear in spring, and these will attract butterflies and pollinators. It's also a host plant for butterfly and moth larvae, in particular, the Spring Azure butterfly. This is just one of the breathtaking butterflies you might see flying around your yard and garden if you grow a variety of flowering shrubs that they love.

Once summer comes around, the American cranberrybush produces clusters of bright red berry-like fruits that look like cranberries. These are actually edible and often used to make jams and jellies — be sure to pick them after a frost when they are not quite ripe because this will improve the flavor. Make sure you leave plenty of berries for the birds, as these are favored by robins, cedar waxwings, hermit thrush, and gamebirds like grouse and pheasants. The berries also provide a good food source for mammals like rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, skunks, mice, foxes, raccoons, moose, and deer.

This attractive and very useful addition to your garden prefers well-drained soil that is kept consistently moist and is more on the alkaline side. It can even handle occasional flooding and is ideal for planting around ponds or other wet areas in your yard. It can be grown in either full sun or part shade, making it incredibly versatile and a smart choice if you're looking for shrubs that are perfect for full sun areas in your yard. Overall, this plant is relatively easy to grow as long as you provide it with enough moisture during dry spells. Make sure you give it plenty of space because it can grow to a height and spread of up to 12 feet.

The American cranberrybush can be planted on its own as one of the plant varieties that'll bring fall birds to your yard and garden, or you can use it as a hedging plant, as it doesn't mind being pruned. Just bear in mind that it's deciduous, so it will lose its maple-shaped leaves in the fall, leaving only the colorful berries. If visiting birds have not devoured these prior, they will remain on the bush into winter and will eventually shrivel up to resemble raisins.