I think you should consider some evergreens like juniper or holly the bird
will use them for both food and cover. The waxwings love juniper berries and
cardinals and other birds eat holly berries, I also have Highbush
cranberries and each year some bird will nest in it, and the robins and
waxwings eat the fruit in early spring.
"Dan" wrote in message
...
Hello,

I have a 60 ft x 10 ft full-sun spot which has been used for garden
crops. Over the past 2 years its been mulched and is loam down to
12-18 inches. However, it's next to the neighbors' house and during
the winter it's pretty barren. Fences are prohibited by the township
so I figured this would be a nice spot for some bushes or shrubs. I
also have a separate but well-established forsythia section which
provides cover for birds, but very little in the way of food for them.
It's currently running rampant, and I was considering removing a few
of them in favor of a new, more benficial bush.

I've been searching for shrubs that would be beneficial for
established (or attract new) wildlife to the area, particularly birds.
This area is zone 5, nw NJ, mountainous, very acidic and heavy clay
soil. The immediate area they would be planted receives about 6-8 hrs
of sun per day in summer, but was also considering beneficial shrubs
for partial-sun areas.

I've been looking into both american cranberry bushes (viburnum
trilobum), as well as northern bayberry (myrica pensylvanica). I
read both these shrubs could be used as both fruit and cover for local
native wildlife. I was wondering if anyone had any other
recommendations for shrubs in this area, or advice on what challenges
the above two would have growing in this area. I keep reading that
bayberry is a coastal plant, and was wondering if it would fare well
in the mountains.

As a notice, this msg is cross-posted to both rec.birds and
rec.gardens. Thanks very much for any advice,

Dan