After the sparrows took the heads off some of my primroses, you might think the last thing I’d be writing about is how to attract birds into your garden with plants. But the noise and movement of birds are as much a part of my garden as the beds and borders. Furthermore, a recent worrying survey suggests well-loved species are under growing threat due to habitat loss and a changing climate.
So while I may curse the sparrows, and I’m not that chuffed about Philip, our resident pheasant, who has taken all the heads off my irises near the bird table, I’m still keen to do all I can to support our birds and to attract lots of them into my garden. And of course there’s more to it than simply putting food out for them.
Though read on and you’ll see I’ve got some exciting news on that front. I’ve three prize bundles of bird feed each worth £50 from the lovely people at Richard Jackson Garden to give to three lucky winners. But more of that in a moment.
So beyond putting out food, how can you help and attract birds into your garden with plants?
How to Attract Birds into Your Garden – Plants
While clearly my primroses and irises have attracted the sparrows and pheasant into my garden, they won’t really sustain them. However, there are plenty of more significant planting decisions you can make which will have a profound impact on bird life. For instance, plants with berries such as holly, cotoneaster, rowan and hawthorn provide birds with the double-whammy of food and shelter.
Hawthorn
With hawthorn, the shiny clusters of haws looks so lovely and can stay on hawthorn trees until February or March, much to the delight of blackbirds, fieldfares, finches and starlings. I’ve also read that many types of moth caterpillars eat hawthorn leaves – providing a handy meal for baby birds in spring.
Ivy
I can confirm from first hand experience the powerful appeal of ivy. My potting shed is covered in it and is an absolute sparrow magnet. I also have ivy running along the top of a wall and it’s a definite nesting site for many birds. My hunch is again that’s because it provides both dense cover and fruits, and attracts insects for birds, especially robins and wrens to feed on. I appreciate that to many ivy seems a rather old fashioned plant to have growing over a fence or building. But with the right kind of planting in the foreground, I think it looks rather good.
Honeysuckle
A year or so ago I planted a honesuckle in my garden. It’s a gorgeous pinky and yellow colour and so appropriately is called rhubarb and custard. I’m hoping that over time, as it grows, it will become popular with the birds in my garden. The wonderful things about honeysuckle, other than its delicious smell, is that it’s a climber. That means it doesn’t take up a lot of room. So if you are wondering how to attract birds into your garden, and your garden is small, it’s a great solution. Aside from being space efficient, it’s also a plant which works for birds and my garden all year round. In autumn honeysuckle offers berries and shelter for birds such as thrushes and bullfinches. In summer, its scented flowers attract insects which are themselves food for a different range of birds.
Pyracanthas
I’ve read that some pyracanthas such as Saphyr Rouge and Teton have a brilliant branch structure, ideal for nesting, especially when grown against walls. They are very disease-resistant and their pretty white flowers are followed by berries. Good news all round!
Sunflowers
If you want to get children involved in your bird friendly garden why not get them growing some sunflowers? But remember to suppress your urge to tidy! Mr F-W will confirm that I find this rather easy to do. The tidiest ‘room’ we have is my potting shed! Anyway, when it comes to sunflowers, you need to leave the faded flowers to form large seedheads. The seeds will provide oil-rich nourishment throughout autumn for seed-eating birds such as finches and long-tailed tits.
Passion Flower
Passion flower is another fantastic climber that is good for birds – and it looks so exotic. I’ve sadly not had much joy growing them. But I plan to give them another try. Passion flowers provide good shelter for birds and insects, and lots of lovely nectar for some pollinators. And with dark everygreen leaves and spectacular blooms the plant provides plenty of visual interest for the garden.
Roses
Some roses are better for birds than others. If you go for those with single, open flowers, you will provide hips for birds. While all rambling and climbing roses, when mature, provide cover and shelter for nesting birds.
Wisteria
Wisteria has shot to the top of many peoples’ plant lists thanks to Bridgerton. The Bridgerton house is swathed in an unfeasbily glorious wisteria, which is in permanent bloom no matter the time of year. So when people haven’t been checking out the glorious costumes and rather raunchy scenes (which seem to involve the most uncomfortable of places – stone stairs, trees etc) they’ve been checking out the wisteria. This is good news for birds as wisteria provides brilliant shelter for nesting birds.
I’m lucky enough to have a wisteria growing over the front of my little cottage and as you can see, from these photos I took five minutes ago, it doesn’t bloom all year round but it does provide plenty of nesting sites.
Grass
So far I’ve talked mostly about shrubs and flowers but there’s a lot you can do with your grass. We’ve all seen blackbirds and other species feasting on worms in lawns, but if you develop part of your grass as a ‘mini meadow’, or let it becomes a bit scruffy, bird diversity will improve. Even ant hills attract green woodpeckers, while apparently starlings hunt chafer grubs in the coarse grasses. Who knew! All this makes me feel less guilty about the fact my lawn is rubbish, and I have little impetus to turn it into something groomed and gorgeous. It’s been a football pitch for much of its life and still to this day looks like it’s just hosted a violent six-a-side!
How to Attract Birds into Your Garden – Patio Plant Ideas
For those with limited space, perhaps only a patio to play with, you can still plant with birds in mind.
Fruit Trees in Pots
For instance, how about a small fruit tree in a pot? Crab apples are very nourishing for birds and beautiful. If you lack space, there are smaller varieties which will grow happily in a container. I’ve just read about the variety called Malus toringo Aros. It grows about 3m tall and has almost-black foliage. I love the sound of that! In May you get lovely dark pink blossom with a white middle which contrast beautifully with the dark leaves. Then in autumn come the all-important deep red crab apples. These last into November if not beyond. Perfect for attracting birds – even waxwings if you’re really lucky. I’m sorely tempted to add one to my patio.
Dial Up the Daisies
I’m not a massive aster fan, in fact I don’t much like many daisy-like flowers. But such flowers are brilliant for birds. You can grow perennial asters in groups of containers on a patio. These colourful plants are brilliant for seed-eaters and foraging wrens as long as you leave them uncut till spring. Or what about some echinaceas? They have wonderful long-lasting flowers which are great for pollinators and the birds who feast on them. You then get the added bonus of seed heads later in the year.
Be Dense!
Birds also favour densely planted areas. I guess they like the cover provided. Anyway, I’ve seen this first hand on my patio. By tightly grouping my containers together, my patio area has become a haven for birds. Yes, I’ve bird feeders on my patio, so birds are bound to congregate. But the birds rest on the supports I have for sweet peas and clematis and take the clematis’ seed heads for their nest-making. I’ve seen birds hiding under the fronds of my tree fern. Birds also perch on the pot rims and dart about in the undergrowth of erigeron. My patio is a veritable jungle gym for birds!!
So even if you’ve just a patio to work with, plant up a mix of containers with annuals (marigolds, annual poppies), some perennials like echinacea, asters or perhaps rudbeckia and some smaller shrubs plus a little fruit tree. You will create an incredibly bird friendly area that’s a joy to watch.
How to Attract Birds into Your Garden with Herbs
If you’ve a herb garden, or room for a pot or two of herbs, there are plant choices here which can again be really beneficial to birds.
For instance fennel produces attractive yellow blooms (these attract hoverflies) and the seeds are eaten by birds in autumn and winter.
I’ve not seen many herb gardens with angelica but as a tall, pretty, early flowering, shade-loving herb, I may find a place to tuck some in my north-facing shady bed. Angelica is associated with making candied stems to decorate cakes, however what I didn’t know is that birds also eat angelica’s seeds in autumn.
How to Attract Birds into Your Garden – Other Tips
There are obviously other things aside from planting to attract birds. Indeed I shared 17 ways to look after garden birds back in November. If you’re feeling handy you can also read about how to make a bird box.
Give away 3 Brilliant Bird Feed Bundles to Win!
Bird feeders and bird food are clearly a brilliant way to instantly attract and sustain birds. But not all bird food is the same. That’s why I’m absolutely thrilled that Richard Jackson Garden, who have the best bird food I know, have provided me with three bird feed bundles each worth £50 to give away to three lucky readers. Each bundle contains:
Simply subscribe to my blog by entering your email below, to be in with a chance of winning one of these bumper prize bundles. (If you are already a subscriber you don’t need to fill it in as you will be automatically entered into the giveaway.) Three winners will be randomly chosen. Good luck!
The Giveaway Closes on 28th March 2021 at 11.59pm (GMT) and it’s only open to UK entries
Competition Rules
This is a joint promotion by BloomingLucky.com and Richard Jackson Garden. Closing date is 28th March 2021 at 11.59pm (GMT). Three winners will win a bird feed bundle as described, this is non-transferrable. This giveaway is open to UK residents aged 18 or over. Entrants must be a registered subscriber to the www.bloominglucky.com blog. To take part subscribe to the www.bloominglucky.com blog, this is the only mandatory task. If you are already a subscriber you will be automatically entered into the draw. Only one entry per person.
The three winners will be chosen at random from all correct entries. The winners will be informed by email within 7 days of the closing date, and must respond within 7 days to claim their prize. Winners names will be available upon request. This prize draw is governed by English law and the courts of England shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising in connection with it.
4 Replies to “How to Attract Birds into Your Garden with Plants”