American beautyberry, Memorial Park

What a beautiful shade of violet

It is, isn't it? They caught my eye and made me feel that fall would soon be here after all, though in Houston August is still very hot and humid. Glad you like it!

I thought of planting one of these bushes after seeing them in a botanic garden. Then I read in a book that birds loved the berries and would eat them straight away so decided not to bother. Does that happen to them there?

I'm not sure Celandine, it didn't seem so to me, but these are at the park, so it could be I just didn't see any birds at the time I was walking by - also, there were so many of these bushes even if they did eat the berries, there were plenty left over...it might be worth trying.