Kelaidis,
"The Indian summer is going on and on...which is a blessing for me since I still have a few last flats to plant."
Don't you worry about the plants frost heaving when you are planting them so close to winter? By this time of the year I hold mine over in pots protected by leaves, my shed, or my garage.
"A bird planted Berberis thunbergii near the entrance to the Rock Alpine Garden. It's been therer for decades: when it turns golden in fall, it is a beacon.
9) Annually it covers with thousands of berries all winter, attracting no end of interest and questions: I got so sick of saying "It's Berberis thungbergii"...amazing that a plant that is banned nowadays in much of the USA because of its invasive tendencies could be so admired! I have to admit I am one of the admirers, however grudging."
You just love to push my buttons :) One aspect that allows plants to become a problem is their ability to spread rapidly. Berries are one of the best ways a plants can disperse seed. You are right about the birds loving to spread them. Japanese Barberry is now all over our local woodlands. You might think one by your entrance is pretty. However, you would quickly change your mind if your open woodland suddenly became a thicket of them. Why is it that so many invasive species have thorns? Controlling Japanese Barberry is a pain, figuratively and literally.
James