Imagine your garden without birds and butterflies. What a quiet,
still and lifeless place it would seem! If you, like most gardeners,
cherish the sights and sounds that birds bring to your landscape,
there are simple ways to make your landscape irresistible to flying
wildlife.

Remember the movie “Field of Dreams”? To paraphrase the famous line,
“Build it and plant it and they will come.” Today I have a quick
rundown of tips and plant suggestions to help you do just that.

To create a garden that’s a haven for songbirds, you simply need to
supply them with three basic requirements for survival: food, shelter
and water.
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Bird Feeder(s)br
Feeders range from almost free to madly expensive. If you decide to
put out a bird feeder, look for one that is difficult for squirrels to
access, and resolve to keep the feeder stocked through the winter as
many birds will come to rely on your specific feeder as a major food
source.
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Bird House(s)br
Birds that like to nest in hollow trees are finding fewer and fewer
potential homes. Add a couple of bird houses and you are helping to
resolve the problem. Buy them ready made at home and garden stores or
make it a family project with some simple tools and free plans
available at a href="http://www.freebirdhouseplans.net/"http://
www.freebirdhouseplans.net/a
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Water
A birdbath, or better still, a water feature will provide birds with
another reason to visit. In summer, you’ll need to be sure the water
is fresh and not merely a mosquito farm, and it winter check to see it
isn’t frozen.
p
But the best thing you can do is plant an environment that provides
food and shelter while adding beauty to your landscape. Some examples:
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a href="http://www.greenwoodnursery.com/page.cfm/261"American
Bittersweet (Calastrus scandens)/abr
This is a fast-growing climber producing beautiful clusters of yellow-
orange fruit in the fall that birds seem to love. It’s a native
plant, usually sold bare root, and adapts to almost any kind of soil.
It also looks spectacular in flower arrangements around Halloween and
Thanksgiving.
p
a href="http://www.greenwoodnursery.com/page.cfm/11681"Carolina
Alspice (Calycanthus floridus)/abr
Dense, fast-growing shrub with lustrous, dark green foliage that turns
yellow in the fall. The dense foliage provides welcome cover for
birds. The fragrant reddish-brown flowers give way to urn-shaped seed
capsules that mature in fall and persist through winter.
p
a href="http://www.greenwoodnursery.com/page.cfm/72511"Black Lace
Sambucus/abr
Aptly named, this elderberry variety is often described as “stunning”
with its finely-cut purple-black foliage, similar to that of a
Japanese maple. It can be a better choice than other acer varieties
due to its adaptability and durability. In the spring, creamy pink
flowers contrast with the blackish foliage, but the birds will enjoy
the black-red berries that emerge in fall. Leave the berries for the
birds or harvest for elderberry wine or jam!
p
a href="http://www.greenwoodnursery.com/page.cfm/258"Nanking Cherry
(Prunus tomentosa)/abr
A delightful flowering shrub that produces edible fruit for human or
bird consumption. Considered a good “wildlife plant,” Nanking Cherry
can create an attractive flowering hedge or windbreak and a good
refuge for birds making for the high ground when danger (e.g. kitty)
approaches. Mature height: 6 to 10 feet.
p
a href="http://www.greenwoodnursery.com/page.cfm/69846"Crape Myrtle
“Natchez”/abr
The abundant clusters of long-lasting, delicate, white flowers, along
with the attractive peeling bark, make this a popular choice for
garden designers. The birds will thank you for the brownish fruit
that arrives in fall and persists through winter. Natchez can reach a
height of 30 feet at maturity in full sun and loamy soil.
p
a href="http://www.greenwoodnursery.com/page.cfm/256"Red Barberry
(Berberis thunbergii)/abr
A great “dual purpose” shrub for birds! It is dense, rounded and
thorny, providing safe cover, and the bright red berries provide food
from late fall through winter. You’ll love the masses of small, deep
red-to-purple leaves that make it a spectacular hedge or filler shrub.

If possible, leave an area of your lawn unraked in the fall. You’ll
see ground-feeding birds busily flipping through leaf litter searching
for insects.

Give them a few good reasons and the birds will come!

The Plant Man is here to help. Send your questions about trees, shrubs
and landscaping to a
"steve@landstew ard.org/a and for
resources and additional information, or to subscribe to Steve’s free
e-mailed newsletter, visit a href="http://
www.landsteward.org"www.landsteward.org/a