Among plants about which you might later have reservations, in spite of their beauty, is the Leycestria formosa, which the garden centre likes to tell you is also called "the pheasant bush". And it is attractive to pheasants, if there happen to be any around you. In this case there were, and, indeed, droppings were found to prove it. But the nearby pheasant rearing ceased and the odd escapee left over seems to have been shot out or just died. (But other birds are happy to dine off its attractive fruits, too.) We'll come to the disadvantages later, but just to remind you that this bush grows to about six to seven feet, maintains a slimmish figure and is definitely attractive in itself: long green stems, lovely dangling purple and white flowers. (The book put it thus: "white funnel-shaped flowers with claret bracts are borne in 2- to 4 inch racemes at the apex of the current season's growth in July and August. These are followed in October by purple-black ovoid fruits".)
Lovely colours; doubt if these are edible. DON'T TRY. The long stems of the plant are hollow and sometimes one or two die out in winter, but quickly grow again in spring. The leaves are a shiny green, in shape slender and tinted. The stems also green. Winter sometimes kills off one or two but they grow again well. A fine, stately bush, not spreading or at any time taking up too much room. What are the snags?
None, really except the fact that birds enjoy the berries and seem to take pleasure in eating them on solid places like stone gate posts and stone walls - as well, no doubt, as trying their luck on the wire fences. But the lovely long clusters of berries probably need to be laid out on some solid surface. First time a small Leycesteria appeared on a gate post at the end of the drive, it caused much amusement among the family. It was allowed to grow for a few years and, in its turn, to lure birds with its fruit. After a while the structure on top of the pillar was examined closely and out came the bush. Pity, but ... Next, one began to show itself at the top of a 10-foot wall 40 miles away. In this case there was no Leycesteria bush around. What neighbour had one? Never mind. The family will enjoy just one more season, and then it must go. Anyway.