Alys Fowler: elderberries

‘Elderberries are an essential meal for birds, too.’ Photograph: Alamy

The slow, graceful fall of elderflowers to berries is the last march of summer. By the time they are dropping, summer is closing up for another year. They blush purple, then eventually darken to a purple black that signifies that summer is finally over. There may well be warm days to come, with perfect golden light that seduces with lingering summer kisses, but the nights tell us otherwise.

Elderberries are rich in vitamin C and antioxidants; the juice makes a wonderful winter tonic if gently heated with a hefty amount of sugar. Don’t over-boil or none of the good stuff will be left (but don’t drink it raw, either: it will make you nauseous). You can also use the berries for wine and jam. They are an essential meal for birds, too; starlings and blackbirds, in particular, seem fond of them. Although the flowers and fruit are edible, the other parts are poisonous, and the leaves smell particularly foul when crushed.

The common elder (Sambucus nigra), is in the family adoxaceae. The whole family used to be clumped in with the honeysuckle family, but boffins have decided elder needs its own gang. This tree is an opportunist, turning up anywhere the berries are dropped by birds. It tends to become increasingly scraggy in shape with age, and most people view it as a weedy species that’s not suitable for the garden. However, in the mid-18th century it was a much prized hedge shrub, planted in double rows and elaborately pruned into a diamond pattern. Its fast-growing nature makes it ideal for such things. For those who like a little creative weaving, perhaps this practice could be reinstated? It would at least be prettier than bright orange fence panels.

Perhaps even that is not enough of a hard sell to persuade most to put an elder in their garden, but there are a number of pretty ones. S. nigra f. porphyrophylla ‘Gerda’ (also known as ‘Black Beauty’) was bred in the 1980s. It has rich, dark purple foliage and brilliant pink flowers that make a wonderful elderflower cordial or champagne. In 2003, the breeders upped their game and produced S. ‘Eva’, often sold as ‘Black Lace’, a cut-leaved form that has deeply dissected leaves and creamy pink flowers.

With both of these, the best foliage colour comes when they are grown in full sun. Too much shade, and the plant will start to revert to greenish-bronze foliage. If dark-coloured foliage isn’t your thing, then S. nigra f. laciniata has the same fern-like foliage as ‘Eva’, but with green leaves and white flowers.

Finally, one for those who have limited space: S. ‘Black Tower’ is a dark-leaved form with an upright habit. If you don’t want it to tower too much, cut it back to its base in spring, and it will reflush with new growth.