Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: For the Birds
There are some awesome native plants to attract birds to your landscape.
These plants are vital in that they attract insects the birds need to feed their young. Natives also serve as safe nesting sites and perches.
I’m sharing some from my friends at Prairie Moon Nursery. Of course, since the birds love them for insects it’s only natural that the pollinators dig them too!
An early blooming tree would be the Downy Serviceberry.
Amelanchier arborea is native to the eastern half of North America from Minnesota south to Texas. The lacey white flowers erupt from April to May producing lots of reddish-purple berries in late summer. It’s even got pretty fall color. It grows to 25 ft and can handle dry soil.
As for flowers, consider Rattlesnake Master.
This 4 ft. tall plant blooms from July thru September. The bristly flowers along with it’s yucca like leaves set this plant apart and bonus, make it unattractive to deer and rabbits! It’s an unusual looking plant that has a 3 ft spread.
Tall larkspur blooms July and August with brilliant purple hues that hail hummingbirds and bumble bees.
It grows to 4 ft tall and a 2 ft. spread in medium to light shade. Plant this with rattlesnake master that can help hold up larkspurs stems.
You could also plant it with Compass plant. An icon of the prairie, this plant allows birds to perch on it’s sturdy stems and feed on insects and seeds.
Planted in good soil, these plants can reach 8 ft., perfect along a fence or even creating their own fence!
Of course other plants popular with birds include native coneflower, columbine and beardtongue.