5 Perennials for Birds:
1. Echinacea purpurea
2. Rudbeckia Goldstrum
3. Black Mammoth Sunflower
4. Echinacea After Midnight
5. Liatris
1. Echinacea purpurea
2. Rudbeckia Goldstrum
3. Black Mammoth Sunflower
4. Echinacea After Midnight
5. Liatris
The seed-heads of many perennial plants are nature's bird feeders for seed-eating
birds like sparrows, chickadees, and grosbeaks, while the black seed of
the purple coneflower serve as food for goldfinches.
Gardening for Birds
Attracting birds to your winter landscape is not a rewarding experience that provides numerous opportunities to observe wild birds at close range.Nothing beats natural, native vegetation to feed the birds of your area. When you garden for birds, you provide natural food and habitat as the
ideal way to attract a wide variety of birds to your garden during the winter. Natural habitat offers opportunities for food and shelter for birds, while attracting bees, butterflies, and other critters into the garden. Gardening for birds also includes providing habitat at the edge of your property by planting shrubs native to your area. In addition to providing an abundant natural food source, habitat plantings also provide shelter from predators and will encourage wild bird nesting, increasing the varieties of bird that visit your yard year after year.Tips for Attracting Birds in the Winter:
- Provide a food source adjacent to your home in the form of perennials planted in your garden that produce seed heads supplemented by bird seed in feeders.
- During the summer, you can keep deadheading flowers to
promote repeating blooms and sturdy stems, but once fall has arrived, leave them alone so the maturing flower heads can produce seeds. - Provide shelter near food sources by planting shrubs such as Redtwig Dogwood, Viburnum and Blueberry plants.
- Offer a water source near food and shelter. In cold climate areas, use a birdbath heater that has a built-in thermostat to warm the water up to just above freezing.
Where to Buy Perennials and Plants for Birds:
Farm Fresh Living: Hardy landscape shrubs and garden perennial plants all grown organically and delivered to your door.Hirt's Gardens: Shop online for shrubs for bird habitat
and other garden plants.Stargazer Perennials: Online source for extensive selection of bird habitat and bird friendly perennial plants.
