Celebrate National Bird Feeding Month; Grow a Garden for the Birds

Celebrate National Bird Feeding Month by planning then planting a few bird friendly additions to your garden.

Landscape plants that provide berries, seeds and shelter make beautiful additions to the landscape while providing food and habitat for the birds.

Look for plants suited to your growing conditions that also have fruit or seeds the birds like to eat. Include native plants whenever possible. These plants also attract insects that most birds also need to eat to thrive.

Every fruit gardener knows blueberries, raspberries and elderberries are bird favorites. But so are ornamental plants like serviceberry, dogwood, spicebush and fringetree. Be sure to include a few like chokeberry, hawthorn and crabapples that provide fruit in the winter.

And even small space gardeners can make a difference. Grow a few small scale shrubs and perennials in the garden, container or even your window box.

A bit more information: And consider planting a few trees and shrubs that may take a few years to mature, but provide years of beauty and food for the birds. Sassafras, oak, hickories and persimmon are large scale plants that provide year round beauty and food for the birds.