Birds in your Garden

I’ve talked about edible gardens for you and me…I’ve talked about edible gardens for butterflies. So it only seems appropriate to talk about ways of enticing birds to your garden! My daughter absolutely LOVES looking at the birds out in our garden…she also loves chasing them...!

The obvious “lure” is a BIRDFEEDER. Around here in Southern California I get a lot of finches and sparrows at my birdfeeder. I ALSO get squirrels who seem to like nothing better then to gnaw their way through the feeder to get to the seeds. I recommend getting a squirrel proof feeder. They are a little more expensive but save you in the long run! There are many different types of feeders available online…Many birds don't eat seed - they eat insects! Indeed, birds can be one of your best forms of pest control, as colorful warblers and flocks of bush tits come through scavenging for dinner. Therefore, it's important that you don't try to poison every insect that enters your garden: At best, you'll be missing out on half the birds that might visit you; at worst, you may be harming them.

The other bird attraction is WATER. All birds need to drink; many love to bathe. A birdbath is a good idea, but many are designed wrong: Their steep rims and slippery surfaces are too treacherous for many birds, who prefer to warily dip their toes before jumping into the deep end. Use gravel to make it more shallow; use rocks or more gravel to create a “beach” that gently slopes in from the rim to the bottom of the bath. I have a few goldfinches that love to bath in the water on the plant's leaves so I always give the bigger leafed plants a good spray. Butterflies also like to drink this way.....

My favorite is attracting hummingbirds. I think most people go with the hummingbird feeders- those glass bottles filled with red sugar water. What people forget is that you have to clean them ALL the time because they get bacteria ridden and can actually be deadly to the little critters. I prefer to attract with plants. Hummingbirds are attracted to bright red or orange, tubular flowers. While the tubular shape compliments their bills, they also feed on other types of flowers, as well as other plants that may contain the insects that satisfy their fat and protein needs.
My top 3 plant choices for attracting hummingbirds are:
Mexican Sage: A fast grower with fuzzy purple stalks. This is a drought tolerant plant as well. I have seen hummingbirds practically swarm this plant! This is also a great plant to add to your butterfly garden!
Fuchsia- There are many varieties of fuchsia but the ones they like the best are, of course, the red ones. These are the ones with the highest sugar content. This is an attractive shrub with long red fuchsia flowers and shiny dark green leaves.
Penstemon- A great plant for gardens and can be quite “showy”. They come in reds, pink and purples and grow in spikes not unlike a snapdragon or foxglove. Another one for butterflies as well.