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The Garden Plot for December 04, 2009
3:55 PM - 4:00 PM
[Program Website]
Today's Highlight: "Birdscaping"
Why do we see so many starlings around new housing developments that have large lawns but few other plants? Except for Starlings, Robins and Flickers, most birds don’t have much use for large lawns. Designing a landscape for birds means looking at your garden from a “birds-eye” view.
Does your landscape have places for birds to hide and nest? Are there sheltered areas and sources of food and water? In general, flower nectar, grass seed, fruits, berries and a diversity of plants to attract tasty insects provide fine dining for birds, while a small pond, puddle or birdbath will make thirsty birds happy and maybe attract toads, frogs, dragonflies and butterflies.
A thickly planted grouping of native rose, honey suckle, and Golden currant will provide protective cover for birds. Lilac hedges and thickets of native rose, honeysuckle and golden currant provide good protective cover for birds. Plan an unpruned thicket where branches aren’t strong enough to support the weight of cats, and where songbirds can dive away from larger predators, such as hawks. My overgrown wild rose hedge is always full of chipping and song sparrows, juncos, and house finches.
Birds choose their nesting sites carefully: they need a site large enough to provide food, nest-building materials, and a good place to nest. Plants that make for good nesting sites include Wood’s rose, honeysuckle, golden currant, Hackberriy, Dogwood, Hawthorn, and elderberry. Some species (such as Meadowlark) need tall grasses in which to nest. Evergreens such as spruce, juniper, and pine also provide winter protection and shelter from wind, snow and rain. During cold spells many birds depend on evergreen shelter for their survival.
To provide a varied bird diet, consider these types of plants:
Seed producers such as sunflowers and pine trees are loved by many birds. Nutritious sunflowers seeds are eaten by Brewer’s and red-winged Blackbirds, chickadees, lazuli buntings, goldfinches, and nuthatches. Pine seeds are consumed by cedar waxwings and pine siskins.
Fruit producers such as chokecherry, currant, elderberry, hawthorn, serviceberry, raspberry, and wild plum attract many kinds of birds, including Western tanagers and bluebirds.
Grass seed from species such as Basin Wild Rye and Big Bluestem are eaten in the winter by juncos and chipping sparrows.
Nectar producers such as columbine and Penstemons are attractive to hummingbirds.
Next week we’ll find out what else eats nectar when we explore butterfly gardens.
Helen Atthowe's new short program of gardening tips
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