Grow plants to attract birds to your Backyard Oasis

 

By adding certain plants, shrubs and bushes you will attract more birds to your backyard and garden areas.

Shrubs and trees will provide shelter for birds year round. They will also provide them a place to nest. You will notice that once you have establish safe places for birds to nest, they will generally return from year to year.

Creeping vines, such as Virginia Creeper, offer an excellent mating and nesting haven for many species of bird. I myself am not fond of Virginia creeper. It tends to be invasive and hard to remove, but the birds love it. Holly bushes, privet trees, and conifers are also favorites for birds.

Berry trees and bushes will attract birds in the wintertime when other food is scarce. And in our area the shoemac tree is a popular feeding retreat for a large variety of birds.

Butterfly bush, Snapdragon, black-eyed Susan, golden rod, evening primrose, marigold, larkspur, yarrow, herbs and thistle will also attract birds. 

If your garden is relatively open or you don’t have room to plant shrubs or trees, you may want to consider putting up nesting boxes. These boxes will give the birds protection from weather and animals.

And while the winter season is here, it’s the perfect time to plan a bird garden. A small garden with flowers that attract bird can easily be grown in a small area, containers, or on an unused hillside.

In your bird garden you may want to add bright colored flowers, which will attract hummingbirds. Hummingbirds are good for pollinating plants and they are non-stop fun to watch.

Plants that will attract humming birds include azaleas, honeysuckle, morning glory, lantana, red buckeye, acanthus, and butterfly bush.

You can also place Hummingbird feeders filled with sugar water around your yard.  Feeders usually have bright red flowers attached so that the hummingbirds can readily recognize them.

And last but not least, add a water feature to your backyard or garden. This will beautify and create a relaxing feel to your yard and give the birds a resource for drinking and bathing during drier months.

A small fountain or traditional birdbath will attract a wide variety of birds to your garden area. And if a fountain does not fit into your décor a dish of water on the ground will water the birds in dry weather.

Tip: You may want to float a leaf on the surface of a small container of water so it’s easy for birds to recognize. And empty it daily to avoid attracting mosquitoes.

With a little effort you will add birds to your backyard, which will add pleasure, color and insect control to your home and garden areas.