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Garden Plants Which Attract and Feed Birds
in Your Garden

October 25, 1999

Generally, most gardeners will choose the plants for their garden based on color, fragrance, or any number of other criteria. While a garden devoted solely to flowers whose seeds attract birds may be out of the question in your overall scheme of things, you should at least consider adding a few "song bird plants". Shrubs, annuals, perennials, native and cultivated plants can all be used to attract such birds. If it is possible, grow a couple plants from each of the following groups, to provide seeds and fruits for all seasons.
Once your birds have become accustomed to eating in your yard, they will develop a certain dependency on you and your garden. When the winter months roll around, natural food will become scarcer. Provide plenty of seed, fruits or suet during these times to keep your feathered friends around your yard, and happy!
When it is at all possible, a water supply should be included into your garden plan. This is easily accomplished by the inclusion of a birdbath, which gives them the water they need and enjoy.

Hummingbird flowers
Hummingbird flowers		 Butterfly flowers
Butterfly flowers
Click here for
SEEDS AND TREATS FOR SONG BIRDS



PLANTS WHICH ATTRACT AND FEED SONG BIRDS
(Check cultural requirements for local suitability.)
(A) ANNUAL (P) PERENNIAL (D) DECIDUOUS (E) EVERGREEN
TREES for shelter and protection
Larger trees planted at the borders of your property provide a safe starting point for visiting birds. These plants are important for escape from predators, winter shelter, and summer nesting sites. They may also provide food in the form of seeds, berries, and sap.
Flowering Dogwood (D)
Cornus florida		 American Holly (E)
Ilex opaca		 Red Cedar (E)
Juniperus virginiana
Red Mulberry (D)
Morus rubra		 Colorado blue spruce (E)
Picea pungens		 Douglas fir (E)
Pseudotsuga menziesii
White cedar (E)
Chamaecyparis thyoides		 Bald cypress (D)
Taxodium distichum		 White fire (E)
Abies concolor
Ponderosa pine (E)
Pinus ponderosa		 Rocky Mountain juniper
J. scopulorum		 Austrian pine (E)
Pinus nigra
California juniper (E)
J. californica		 Alternate leaf Dogwood (D)
Cornus alternifolia		 American Mountain Ash (D)
Sorbus americana
Red-osier Dogwood (D)
Cornus stolonifera		 Silky Dogwood (D)
Cornus amomum		 Gray Dogwood (D)
Cornus racemosa
Hackberry (D)
Celtis occidentalis		 Sassafras (D)
Sassafras albidium		 Oak (D)
Quercus sp.
Hazelnut (D)
Corylus avellana		 Chestnut (D)
Castanea sp.		 Black walnut (D)
Junglens nigra

ANNUALS AND PERENNIALS for fruit and seed
Many flowering plants produce large quantities of seed each year. This is a very important food source for many sparrows, finches and other songbirds. At the end of the blooming season, don't cut the spent flowers off, but allow them to dry and hang in place.
Penstemon (P)
Penstemon spectabilis		 Sunflower (A)
Helianthus annuus		 Tickseed (P)
Coreopsis sp.
Bee Balm (P)
Monarda		 Floss flower (A)
Ageratum houstonianum		 Aster (A)(P)
Aster sp.
Goldenrod (P)
Solidago		 Cosmos (A)(P)
Cosmos sp.		 Bachelor's Button (A)
Centaurea cyanus
Larkspur (A)
Consolida ambigua		 Spider flower (A)
Cleome spinosa		 Snapdragon (A)
Antirrhinum majus
Purple Coneflower (P)
Echinacea purpurea		 Four O'Clocks (A)(P)
Mirabilis jalapa		 Cockscomb (A)
Celosia sp.

SHRUBS AND VINES
Plant shrubs in clumps or hedgerows so birds can observe the yard while hidden from the view of cats and other predators. By the same token, place your bird feeders and bird baths away from places where cats may lay in waiting for an unsuspecting bird. Almost any fruiting plant provides food for the birds, but plants like raspberries tend to be picked clean, long before the summer is over. The following shrubs and vines tend to hold their fruits and seeds through the fall and into the winter months.
Salal (E)
Gaultheria shallon		 Oregon grape (E)
Mahonia aquifolium		 Beautyberry (D)
Callicarpa bodinieri
Silverberry (D)
Eleagnus commutata		 Bayberry (D)
Myrica pensylvanica		 Chokecherry (D)
Prunus virginiana
Virginia Creeper (D)
Parthenocissus quinquefolia		 Firethorn (E)
Pyracantha coccinea		 Black Currant (D)
Ribes americanum
Elderberry (D)
Sambucus sp.		 Blueberry (D)
Vaccinium corymbosum		 Huckleberry (D)(E)
Vaccinium ovatum
Cranberry bush (D)
Viburnum trilobum		 Blackberry (D)
Blackberry		 Cotoneaster (D)
Cotoneaster
Crabapple (D)
Malus sp.		 Japanese Yew (E)
Taxus cuspidata		 Sumac (D)
Rhus sp.
Manzanita (E)
Arctostaphlos sp.		 Creeping juniper (E)
Juniperus horizontalis		 Common juniper (E)
Juniperus communis


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