Bayberry

Salt spray, sandy soil, and poor sites hardly faze northern bayberry, a tough aromatic shrub for difficult ground. Crush a leaf and you will notice the fragrance, while female plants carry clusters of waxy gray berries that last all winter. Left to spread, it forms dense thickets that work as informal hedges, screens, and slope stabilizers. Tree swallows and yellow-rumped warblers depend on the berries during the cold months. Before sowing, the seeds benefit from having their waxy coating rubbed off, followed by a winter chill.