Attracting Birds To Your Garden
Birds needs four basic elements from outdoor spaces:
Food
It's essential that the plants in your garden provide food during all seasons, especially for migratory birds that need places to refuel during their long journeys. Plants that attract wildlife will also attract insects, which birds love! Try to choose plants that have the some of the following characteristics in order to keep your winged visitors full:
Water
Providing a space, even a small one, for birds to drink and bathe is an easy way of supporting your local bird population. If you decide to purchase a bird bath from your local store, try to find one that can be easily cleaned, has a shallow basin and is made of material that won't freeze and crack in the winter. If you decide to create your own, be sure to mimic a natural puddle as much as possible as birds are more comfortable with shallow, ground level water sources.
Shelter and Nesting Space
Creating shelter for the birds in your garden is an essential component of a successful bird habitat. Creating a garden with varied layers of plants and trees will give birds a selection of places to nest, roost and sleep. Adding spaces for dense underbrush, thickets and creating piles of dead plant material gives birds a place to hide from predators and take shelter during bad weather.
All botanical names will link directly to more information in the Mt. Cuba Native Plant Finder or at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
Native Perennials
Botanical Name | Common Name |
Aquilegia canadensis 'Canyon Vista' | Canyon Vista columbine |
Aster novae-angliae 'Purple Dome' | Purple Dome New England aster |
Coreopsis grandiflora | Large-flower tickseed |
Delphinium exaltatum | Tall larkspur |
Elymus hystrix | Bottlebrush grass |
Lobelia cardinalis | Cardinal flower |
Mitchella repens | Partridgeberry |
Penstemon digitalis 'Husker Red' | Husker Red Foxglove beardtongue |
Rudbeckia fulgida | Black-eyed Susan |
Rudbeckia triloba | Thin-leaf coneflower |
Silene virginica | Fire pink |
Native Trees and Shrubs
Botanical Name | Common Name |
Amelanchier sp. | Serviceberries |
Aronia arbutifolia | Red chokeberry |
Callicarpa americana | American beautyberry |
Cornus florida | Flowering dogwood |
Crataegus viridis 'Winter King‘ | Winter King green hawthorn |
Ilex decidua | Possumhaw |
Ilex glabra | Inkberry |
Ilex verticillata 'Winter Red' | Winter Red wnterberry holly |
Juglans nigra | Black walnut |
Juniperus virginiana | Eastern red cedar |
Nyssa sylvatica | Sour gum |
Platanus occidentalis | American sycamore |
Quercus rubra | Red oak |
Salix nigra | Black willow |
Sambucus sp. | Elderberries |
Sassafras albidum | Common sassafras |
Vaccinium corymbosum | Highbush blueberry |
Viburnum dentatum | Arrowwood viburnum |
Viburnum prunifolium | Black haw |
Native Plants for Hummingbirds
Botanical Name | Common Name |
Aesculus pavia | red buckeye |
Amelanchier sp | serviceberry |
Aquilegia canadensis | columbine |
Campsis radicans | trumpet creeper |
Impatiens capensis | touch-me-not |
Liatris spicata | dense blazing star |
Lilium canadense | Canada lily |
Lilium superbum | Turk's cap lily |
Lobelia cardinalis | cardinal flower |
Lonicera sempervirens | trumpet honeysuckle |
Monarda didyma | scarlet bee balm |
Phlox maculata | wild sweet william |
Rhododendron prunifolium | plumleaf azalea |
Rhododendron vaseyi | pink shell azalea |
Spigelia marilandica | Indian pink |
Native Container Plants for Birds
Botanical Name | Common Name |
Echinacea purpurea 'Kim's Knee High' | Purple coneflower |
Echinacea purpurea 'Kim's Mop Head' | White blooming purple coneflower |
Solidago rugosa 'Fireworks' | Fireworks wrinkle-leaf goldenrod |