How to Attract Birds to Your Garden

Do you see beautiful birds in your yard one day, and the next day they are gone? If birds do not stay in your garden, you are not offering them what they need to survive. Attracting birds to your garden is as simple as one, two, three. One, provide food for the type of bird you would like to attract. Two, provide shelter from the weather, and predators. Three, provide a source of water for drinking, and bathing. If you provide these three things you will be rewarded with many feathered friends in your garden or yard.

Provide food for birds year round. To do this you will need a varied source of food, especially for the birds that overwinter in your garden. Birds need to eat constantly to survive. They have a very high metabolism, and must be able to find a regular source of food to survive. Grow trees or bushes that provide fruit or berries for the summer, and fall. A good variety of nut, or pinecones will help provide food for your tiny visitors through the tough fall and winter months. Set up a bird feeder with a variety of seeds. Some birds will only eat a certain type of seeds. The bird feeder will help your feathered friends survive through a harsh winter. After a hard snow, make sure you clean off the birdfeeder, and the ground around it so the birds can find their food.

You can also provide suet cakes, or create your own ornamental bird feeders. Cover a pine cone with peanut butter (non-hydrogenated), then roll it in seeds, or crushed nuts, and hang it on the nearest tree. Birds love this treat, and if you have several evergreens to provide shelter you should also have an abundance of pinecones to use. Make sure you put your bird feeders in the open, so cats and other predators cannot sneak up on the birds while they are eating.

To attract hummingbirds to your garden during the summer plant flowers with an abundance of nectar, such as gladiolus, lillies, or butterfly bushes. Provide a hummingbird feeder with a mixture of sugar and water for the times when the hummingbirds cannot find enough nectar in the flowers around your house.

Don't spray your garden or lawn with harsh chemicals. Use only organic, environment friendly products to control pests in your garden. If you use harsh chemicals you can harm the eco system in your garden, killing the beneficial insects birds need to survive, along with the pests. Chemicals sprayed on fruit trees can also harm the birds, and their young.

You can attract birds to your garden by providing shelter. Plant some evergreens, and bushes for your favorite birds to nest in. During the summer you provide nesting boxes, and birdhouses in safe places for your feathered friends to raise their young in.

You will also need to provide a source of water, such as a birdbath, or small stream. Birds love to bath and preen themselves. Add a few stones to your birdbath, large enough to poke out of the top of the water. This will provide a perch for smaller birds, and butterflies to drink safely from your birdbath. They need a fresh source of water to keep themselves clean and healthy. Clean your birdbath regularly to keep it clean and fresh.

Here is a list of great plants, shrubs, and trees to include in your garden if you would like to attract birds:

1. Holly is a great shrub to include, because it provides berries in the fall and winter. Since it is an evergreen shrub it can also provide some low lying shelter year round.

2. Blue Spruce, Firs, and Pine trees all provide great shelter year round from the weather. These evergreen trees provide a great nesting spot. Food from the pinecone seeds is a great addition to the birds winter diet.

3. Hazelnut, Walnut, and Chestnut trees provide nuts for a late fall, or winter snack your garden visitors will enjoy.

4. Sunflowers, and cockscomb, both provide seeds birds love. Plant some of these in your garden, and leave them through the fall for great natural birdfeeders. Both of these annuals will re-seed themselves, so plant them in an area where you don't mind if they come back again next year.

5. Asters, Snapdragons, Larkspur, Bee Balm and Goldenrod all provide nectar for hummingbirds. They will also provide a low ground cover for all birds.

As an added bonus planting a variety of flowers, trees and shrubs will attract butterflies to your garden, as well as your favorite birds. The evergreens, birds, flowers, and shrubs provide a beautiful retreat for you, your family, and friends.