Winged Wednesday - Five Favorite Plants for Feeding the Birds

Although bird feeders, bird baths, and bird houses are all good ways to attract birds to your yard, the most effective way to attract birds is to turn your yard into a bird sanctuary through landscaping. Plants can provide shelter for roosting or nesting, and they can provide food. Here are some great native plants for you to consider when landscaping your yard for wildlife.

Cardinal Flower is an interesting wildflower with brilliant red flowers which display almost like flags. It's relatively easy to grow. We have two rows of it, one which is in partial shade, and the other is full sun. The row in partial shade does better than the role in full sun. Our Cardinal Flowers grew to be a little more than 3 feet tall last summer. The plant doesn't produce fruit or abundant seed, but it did have frequent visits from Ruby Throated Hummingbirds in July and August.

A couple of our Cardinal Flowers

Purple Coneflower is a familiar wildflower for many. It's an attractive pinkish flower which can grow to be fairly tall. We had some this last year which grew to be 4 feet tall. Our Coneflowers grow in full sun and are planted quite thickly. During the early spring when they are mostly leafy vegetation, they are frequented by rabbits for shelter and even Mourning Doves. During the summer when the flowers have bloomed, the local House Wrens do a fair amount of insect hunting amongst them. The Coneflowers produce abundant seed and attract American Goldfinches, Dark Eyed Juncos, Pine Siskins, and American Tree Sparrows in the fall and winter after the plant has become dry and brown.

Wren catches spider in the Purple Coneflower.

Black Eyed Susan is another familiar widflower. Our Black Eyed Susans grow mixed in with our Purple Coneflowers, our neighbor refers to it as "the jungle". The Black Eyed Susans don't grow as tall as the Coneflowers, but they do spread abundant seed around. They tend attract the same group of birds during the fall and winter as the Purple Conflower.

American Goldfinch finds a wildflower snack.

Allegheny Serviceberry is a shrub which produces a white flower in the spring. Ours is planted at the center and rear of the wildflower garden. We planted it last year, and it produced some fruit. After I had seen American Robins and Northern Cardinals eat some of the berries, I decided it might be something to try. I won't try them again; the birds can keep them. In the end, it's an attractive flowering shrub which produces berries eaten by birds (even if not eaten by humans); we're so happy with our one that we've decided to plant a couple more this year to replace the Coralberry bushes which were eaten by the rabbits.

Big Blue Stem is a tall native grass which grows to around 7 feet or so. It lines the back of our wildflower garden and is remarkably attractive both when green and fresh as well as later when dry and golden. Seed tassels form at the top, and each winter we enjoy watching the birds land on the stalks, attempting to attain the seed they seek. The bottom of Big Blue Stem is thick and full and provides some winter cover as well. We've seen American Goldfinches, Pine Siskins, American Tree Sparrows, and Dark Eyed Juncos in the Big Blue Stem during the winter.

American Tree Sparrow enjoys the Big Blue Stem.

One key is planting a good variety of plants. Having a diverse set of plants will help provide food at different times of the year for different kinds of birds. We've also tried to plant in bunches, the Hummingbirds for example will have an easier time finding a cluster of a dozen or more Cardinal Flowers than if you just plant a couple. In the end, these plants are all attractive and showy while having the added effect of attracting wildlife; what more can you ask for?