5. Elderberry tree (Sambucus nigra ‘Black Beauty’)

From all the edible shrubs we’ve selected, our absolute favourite has to be the elder or elderberry tree (Sambucus nigra). Long revered, the elder is celebrated for its fragrant flowers and superfood berries that are both divine to cook with. If you’re looking for a bold eye-catcher in the design of an urban park, you – and the wildlife – will fall head over heels for the ‘Black Beauty’ cultivar with its stunning deep purple foliage, elegant pale pink flowers and purple black fruit. 

Native to the Netherlands, the elder has been associated with folklore and witchcraft. Its name derives from the ancient Greek wind instrument sambuca, and from the Anglo-Saxon word  aeld meaning fire as the elder’s hollow branches were used to blow the embers of a fire. An elder isn’t fussy about where it’s planted. It prefers sun but doesn’t mind some shade nor wet conditions. Resilient and fast growing, they’re an ideal shrub for establishing a design quickly, bearing fruit already after 2 years. 

If it were possible to capture the scent of summer, elderflower syrup probably comes closest. Choose a sunny day around early June to pick the large lacy clusters of flowers for your syrup – take a moment to really enjoy their heady fragrance. The Black Beauty’s dark pink buds emerge as pale pink flowers, an elegant contrast with its dark purple leaves. Be sure to make enough syrup to last into the colder months when you’re longing for summer. While harvesting, you’ll see that the insects of every kind adore elderflowers as much as we do; planting elder around a vegetable and fruit garden is sure to attract the pollinators you need. Elders are also hosted plants for butterflies and moths such as elderberry pearl moth, swallow tailed-moth and buffermine (gele tijger in Dutch meaning yellow tiger). Dried flowers make a lovely tea.

The sight of drooping clusters of ripe elderberries is an unmissable part of autumn. Leave the green ones as they’re poisonous and pick only the deep purple berries. These make the most delicious syrup (used in traditional medicine to treat colds), jam, pies and wine, and are also used as natural dyes. Birds flock to feast on the ripe berries, their droppings helping to spread the seeds. If you spot some wrinkled little brown ‘ears’ growing on older branches of the elder especially in winter, these are wood ear mushrooms. A culinary delicacy, they’re named after Judas who is said to have hung himself from an elder tree. 

4. Common hazel (Corylus avellana)

Which shrub was cultivated by the Romans, its nuts the star ingredient of Nutella? The hazel. Planting a native common hazel (Corylus avellana) will boost the presence of all sorts of wildlife in an urban landscape – the squirrels, particularly, will have plundered your shrub for their winter stash in the blink of an eye.

Give a hazel space and time – it starts producing nuts after about 8 years. Your patience will be rewarded with harvests of delicious homegrown hazelnuts and sculptural long flowers called catkins that add visual interest to the sleepy winter garden. With its sculptural multi-stemmed structure that widens at the top and grows up to 8 metres high, a hazel needs room to thrive. However, it’s also excellent for compact hedges, which are vital for sheltering wildlife. The hazel’s bendy branches are well suited for weaving; corkscrew branches are popular as Easter decorations. 

From winter into early spring, the deciduous hazel looks like it’s hibernating but in fact it’s in the midst of flowering season. It’s the first wild plant to flower so early, marking also the start of hay fever season. On its bare branches hang clusters of yellow male catkins, swaying gently. Nature perfected their lightweight, elongated forms to catch the wind and spread pollen to the female flowers, which resemble buds, located on the same tree. Beekeepers plant hazels to feed their honeybees that are active early in the year.

Appearing after the flowers, the toothed-edged leaves are a delicacy for caterpillars. The hazel is an important food plant for many butterflies and moths. These include the renowned Giant peacock moth and Comma butterfly, and moths with charming Dutch names such as the Hazelaaruil and Bonte beer, meaning Hazel owl and Multicoloured bear. 

Keep a close eye on the clusters of hazelnuts, which form on the female flowers after pollination, as they ripen in autumn from pale green to deep brown. The trick is to pick them not too early as they will be tasteless but not too late as chances are there’ll be none left as the squirrels, mice and birds will have beaten you to it. Forgotten hazelnuts from an animal’s stash get the chance to germinate and grow, which is another way the hazel spreads. 

3. Amelanchier or Juneberry (Amelanchier lamarckii)

Plant an Amelanchier or two and you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner. Adored by wildlife for its mass of flowers and juicy blueberry-like fruit, this gem of a shrub adds an elegant beauty to every urban landscape, large or small, all year round. The Amelanchier’s characteristic layered, open structure adds a distinct aesthetic feature to the garden, either pruned as a small tree (it grows up to 10 metres high) or planted as a row of shrubs. 

The Amelanchierhas its roots in America (where it’s also called Serviceberry) but has been naturalised in the Netherlands for centuries, such that the Krentenboom, as it’s known here, is unmissable in the Dutch landscape. In the wild Amelanchier lamarckii is abundant in parts of the country such as Drenthe where special forest hikes take in the best locations to spot Amelanchiers in bloom. 

To plant an Amelanchier is to celebrate the seasons, each season showing off a different, equally spectacular side to this hardy deciduous shrub. With its branches laden with large off-white blossoms dotted with copper-coloured new leaves, the sight of an Amelanchier in bloom is to be savoured – it’s quite breathtaking, especially against a blue sky. The whole shrub becomes a magnet for bees, bumblebees, wasps who definitely wouldn’t want to miss this.

The Krentenboom takes its name from the edible fruit krenten (meaning currants)that starts to ripen in summer. Historically, they were dried and used instead of real Corinth grape currants for baking. Look for the clusters of fruit as they ripen from red into deep purple, but not all at once. You’ll have to compete with birds such as finches, thrushes and woodpeckers who flock to Amelanchiers to devour the irresistibly juicy fruit. Every year, they’ll remember when it’s berry time, meaning your garden will truly become a bird paradise! Krentencan be used in place of blueberries, they’re excellent for jam due to their high pectin content and if the birds haven’t beaten you to a decent harvest, make a pie! Or if they did, remember to plant a few more shrubs next year. 

Equally spectacular in autumn, the Amelanchier lights up the garden when its leaves transform into fiery tones of copper, orange, yellow and red, the sight of which gives a welcome sense of warmth as the temperatures start to plunge. 

2. Cornelian cherry dogwood (Cornus Mas)

Cultivated for millennia for its wood and culinary uses, Cornelian cherry dogwood (Cornus mas) might just become your new best friend in the garden. It’s best known for its delicate yellow flowers and edible olive-shaped fruit, both of which are equally cherished by people and wildlife alike. In the Netherlands, it’s rare in the wild, limited to the southernmost parts of the country. 

When the garden starts to awake from the cold in early spring, the blossoming of Cornus Masis eagerly awaited – especially for the bumblebees as it’s one of their first food sources available after the long winter. Masses of fine bright yellow clusters of flowers covering this bushy shrub or small tree bring an instant cheer, especially on sunny days when the yellow blooms contrast strikingly with the deep blue sky. An added bonus is that it blooms for several weeks, meaning more time to enjoy this stunning shrub.

Cornus mas is also the host plant for moths including Eupoecilia ambiguellaand Antispila treitschkiella, -metallellaand –petryi. While moths aren’t as prominent as butterflies, they’re important as pollinators and a food source for birds and other wildlife. 

Like all dogwoods, Cornus masmakes a show of autumn colours when its glossy green leaves turn vibrant shades of burgundy tinged with purple. Look for bunches of ripening elongated ruby red fruit called cornels hiding between the colourful foliage. Birds adore them. When ripe, they’re soft and fall easily off the stalk. Their tartness lends itself well to jams and jellies but surprisingly they can also be brined and eaten like olives. As the pits were used as rosary beads, Cornus masis often found in monastery and cloister gardens. 

Cornus Mas stands the test of time, some growing to be over 100 years old! The Romans called it Cornus, meaning horn. As a tough hardwood, it’s been prized since ancient times particularly for spears, wheel spokes and tool handles but also shepherd’s staffs. 

It’s an easy friend in the garden as a hedge or standalone feature, thriving in sun and partial shade and most soil conditions – although it has a preference for chalky soils. It doesn’t mind drought nor wind and gets on well with most plants making it ideal as part of a diverse urban landscape.