Attract Birds with these Flowers
Add some winged wonder to your backyard with these flowers.
Calling All Birds
No doubt about it, birds liven up a backyard. But it takes more than a feeder to turn a ho-hum backyard into a haven. You have to know the basics of "birdscaping." Birdscaping is providing everything feathered friends need to survive in your backyard.
These plants will get you right on track with welcoming your winged friends.
Honeysuckle
Botanical name: Lonicera.
Hardiness: Zones 3 to 9.
Birds love: Hummingbirds prefer its funnel-shaped blossoms, while other birds feed on its bright-red berries.
Height: Vines, 8 to 30 feet; shrubs, 2 to 15 feet
Width: Shrubs, 3 to 15 feet.
Light needs: Full sun to partial shade.
Planting: Space plants 3 to 4 feet apart in holes the same depth as the root balls.
Blue Spruce
Botanical name: Picea pungens.
Hardiness: Zones 3 to 8.
Birds love: Its thick branches of prickly needles provide shelter, while cones produce seed for food.
Height: 30 to 60 feet.
Width: 10 to 20 feet.
Light needs: Full sun.
Planting: Plant bare-root seedlings in early spring, balled-and-burlapped trees soon after purchase and container-grown trees anytime during growing season.
Flowering Dogwood
Botanical name: Cornus florida.
Hardiness: Zones 5 to 8.
Birds love: Its crotches provide a place for birds to build their nests, while bright-red berries provide nourishment in fall.
Height: 20 to 30 feet.
Width: 20 to 30 feet.
Light needs: Full sun to partial shade.
Planting: In North, plant in late winter to early spring; in South, fall to late winter.
Hollyhock
Botanical name: Alcea rosea.
Hardiness: Zones 3 to 9.
Birds love: Hummingbirds relish its red, pink, yellow, white or purple blossoms in early summer.
Height: 3 to 8 feet.
Width: 1 to 3 feet.
Light needs: Full sun.
Planting: To force blooms during the first summer, sow indoors in winter and transplant in early spring.
Sunflower
Botanical name: Helianthus annuus.
Hardiness: Annual.
Birds love: In early autumn, the seeds of this blooming beauty attract a variety of birds.
Height: 2 to 15 feet.
Width: 18 to 24 inches.
Light needs: Full sun.
Planting: Sow seeds 6 inches apart in spring. Thin to the strongest growers so the plants are 18 to 24 inches apart.
Crabapple
Botanical name: Malus.
Hardiness: Zones 2 to 8.
Birds love: The 1/4- to 2-inch red, yellow or orange apples this tree boasts are irresistable to birds.
Height: 8 to 25 feet.
Width: Up to 25 feet.
Light needs: Full sun, but will tolerate light shade.
Planting: Dig the planting hole the same depth as the root system, and three to five times wider.
Firethorn
Botanical name: Pyracantha.
Hardiness: Zones 5 to 10.
Birds love: The red, orange or yellow berries that appear in fall are a favorite with birds.
Height: Up to 15 feet.
Width: Up to 20 feet.
Light needs: Full sun (for best fruit production) to partial shade.
Planting: Sow seeds in containers in a cold frame in autumn.