Planting for Birds and Butterflies
by Bill Fintel, Avian Aquatics
Imagine looking out at your yard and realizing the birds and butterflies have chosen yours as their playground. In the short space here, I hope to give you an overview of plants that have worked well to attract a wide variety of birds to our backyard (145 species). Early spring is a good time start. Proper selection of flowers, shrubs and trees will provide the three key elements of food, nest sites and shelter.
Looking first at flowers, the blooms themselves can provide nectar for hummingbirds and butterflies. Additionally, finches such as the Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, also eat the blossoms. The seed eating birds, such as White-throated Sparrows are ready when the blossoms go to seed.
If you enjoy hummingbirds, flowers are a must. A hummingbird feeder near a colorful flower bed is certain to attract more hummingbirds than just a feeder alone. In the east, my favorite flowers for attracting hummingbirds are bee balm, cardinal flower, scarlet sage, and trumpet vine. Bee balm is an early summer blooming perennial which is also very attractive to butterflies. Cardinal flower is a late summer perennial, which likes rich moist soil and some shade. Scarlet Sage, specifically Salvia coccinea, is a Texas native with smaller blooms than many cultivated salvias, and is a top hummingbird flower. It blooms midsummer to frost. Trumpet vine is a native woody vine that has long orange-red flower loved by hummingbirds – perhaps one of their all time favorites. Trumpet vine can be aggressive, but give it a dead tree or old telephone post towards the back and it will be a garden star.
Moving beyond hummingbird flowers, Purple Coneflower is a perennial frequented by butterflies, which later produces seeds loved by Goldfinches and other seed-eaters. Many of the sunflower-like annuals, such as cosmos and daisies, also have this same seed attraction. Being a birder-gardener allows you to let those flowers go to seed especially at the end of the season. Say goodbye to deadheading. Watching a Goldfinch pluck seed from a spent flower is beauty itself.
Butterfly bush or Buddleia, is an excellent shrub for attracting butterflies of all varieties, and it is also frequented by hummingbirds. The funny thing with Buddleia is that different specimens may look alike but have different attractive powers. So my recommendation is to plant several different varieties, Surprisingly, the best one I have had for hummingbirds was a yellow-flowered one.
Crabapples, particularly those with small fruits about 3/8″ in diameter, are my favorite tree for both providing shade in a garden and attracting birds. Cedar Waxwings will eat some blossoms in April, then in May the trees provide excellent nest sites for Robins, and Cardinals. In fall, a good fruit crop, as occurs most years, will provide food for Waxwings, Mockingbirds, Robins and even Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers.
If you have several crabapples, some fruit will usually be left even into late winter to serve as a food reserve. American Dogwood is another good small native for food and nest sites. Red-eyed vireos love the red dogwood berries during their fall migration.
My favorite evergreens are Red Cedar and American Holly. Both are natives that provide food as well as shelter. Cedars have small green fruits eaten by Yellow-rumped warblers, while hollies have berries loved by waxwings and robins.
Groves of evergreens are usually best for maximum shelter from cold and predators.
Among the tall trees, which if you are fortunate enough, you already have in your yard. Tulip Poplars are excellent for foraging insect-eating warblers and vireos, and then in fall, they have a seed crop loved by finches including Evening Grosbeaks. Hickories are a good tree for migrating warblers in the fall, as are the tassels of White Oaks in the spring. When designing a bird garden, one important principle is to create an edge effect similar to the woodland edge.
Begin with low flowers, behind them set shrubs, then small trees, and finally, if you have them, tall trees.
This creates the most diverse habitat in the most compact space. My observations are from Delaware and Tennessee, however the basic principles can apply anywhere.
Now just add water (the fourth element of a great birding garden) and the flocks will flock to your yard.
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