It’s that time of year for many of us, when we start planting our gardens. If you are interested in growing a garden for the birds, check out some of the tips below.
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You want to make sure you attract birds, are able to feed them, and provide them with shelter.
Build it and the birds will come.
Plants, flowers and weeds
When designing a garden for the birds, make sure to choose a wide variety of plants. Include perennials, annuals, grasses, berries, and vines. Have many different shapes, sizes, and colors of plants. For example, hummingbirds are attracted to red. So, oriental poppies, hollyhocks, and cannas are good choices.
Make sure to include flowers that have seeds and are nectar rich. Daisies and sunflowers are both excellent choices as well as are honeysuckles and trumpet vines. Also, you want to have some weeds (yes, you read that correctly) in your garden such as Queen Anne’s lace and asters. Birds are attracted to the bugs some of these plants attract. Disgusting, maybe. Reality, definitely!
Trees and shrubs
Your garden should also include some trees and shrubs. Trees and shrubs provide shelter for the birds in and of themselves. However, its not a bad idea to include some bird houses too and of course, do not disrupt any nests. Trees and shrubs also provide food to our feathered friends. Many produce seeds as well as serve as a breading ground for insects too, again serving as food.
Bird feeders and water features
When designing your garden, you also want to include some bird feeders and water features. And no, this is not cheating. Bird feeders of sorts will attract all different types of birds. Put them at various heights too and include a variety of different types of seeds. Make sure you put these in places where you will be able to see them too, but not where your lurking cat may be waiting! Birds also require water for both thirst and for cleaning. If you want them to keep coming, you have to provide birds what they need and you have to do it consistently.
For more specific information on what plants to help attract birds to your garden, ask at your local nursery. However, by simply following these tips, you will be well on your way. You will have birds flocking to your garden before you know it.
About Jim Shannon
I love bamboo and decided to grow it, a few years ago now. There were three lovely clumps nicely establishing themselves in the front garden when – can you believe it – someone pinched the lot! Don’t know how they managed it without being noticed!
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Oh thats terrible Diane. Hate to say this but maybe it was google PANDA: seems to be getting everywhere now and we all know pandas love bamboo ( ho ho )
My garden has no trees in it but still attracts birds and I’m really happy about it. It’s purely green with some roses – the red ones. A pond with fishes too. I love the view when I’m in the garden, birds are good addition to the view.
As long as there are flowers that attract insects there will always be birds Helena. A garden pond is also a great place for drinking and plenty of insects live around ponds too.
Thank you for these great tips to attract birds to the garden. I recently made a bird feeder pole out of an old pole and spare wood and it was well visited looking more natural in the garden too. Thanks for sharing.
Geoff
There is so much we can do to create a garden for wildlife and birds and lets face it we owe it to them. Every time we eat food that has been sprayed with chemicals we should think about the insects that we killed that are the food source for birds. How dare we do that!
Eat food sprayed with pesticdes and you are murdering wildlife and birds as well as slowly killing yourself and the planet.