Planting for the Birds

Well it is snowing a bit outside, so we know it is still spring, but the May long weekend is just around the corner and, for many people, this weekend marks the "safe date" after which it is safe to plant your bedding plants and not be worried about frost.

So if you are one of these gardeners that are eagerly awaiting the May long weekend and doing some garden planning, then how about considering some plants that will attract birds.  I have made some suggestions among the plants that are commonly available in your local greenhouses:

Annuals
For hummingbirds: Hummingbirds have long thin bills that are ideal for probing into trumpet shaped flowers to find the nectar that they are seeking.  They seem to be attracted to flowers that are red in colour.  Look for plants that have high nectar production.  Annual plants to consider for attracting hummingbirds include fuchsias, nasturtiums, snapdragons, dianthus, foxglove, impatiens and petunias.

For seed eating birds:  It is the seed heads in flowers that are the attraction for seed eating birds. These seeds are not available to the birds until the seed head has dried out so don't dead head your flowers or if you do, save the seed heads and offer them once they have dried out in a tray feeder for the birds. In the fall, leave your flowers and their seedheads standing and you will have birds visiting these heads in cold weather condition.  Flowers to consider for attracting seed eating birds include cosmos, cornflower, marigolds, and zinnias, black eyed susans, daisies, impatiens and sunflower mixes

Perennials:
Now what about perennials?  If you are like me, you are getting lazy and prefer to not plant alot of bedding plants.  Here are some choices of commonly available perennial bedding plants for nectar generation (hummingbirds) or seed heads (seed-eating birds): consider bee balm, columbines, coral bells, bachelor buttons, delphiniums, lilies and lupines.

Finally what about shrubs, vines and trees:  consider plants that have berries like dogwood, mountain ash, chokecherry bushes or trees, russian olives, and crabapple trees. Also consider shrubs or climbing vines that have high nectar production for the hummingbirds like morning glory or honeysuckle vines.

It's amazing to find that attracting birds really isn't just about what feeders you have in the yard.  Bird's are looking for the right environment including plants (and don't forget water) when they decide whether to hang out in your backyard or your neighbor's.  So plant for success!

How to protect your lawn from bird seed.

OK, I should know better.  I should know that my lawn will be affected by my bird feeding habits but somehow every year in the spring it comes as a bit of surprise.

Right now I have this nice bump under my finch feeder. I have been feeding a mix of finely chopped sunflower seed and nyjer seed.  Now neither of these seeds will sprout as the nyjer seed has been sterilized and the chopped sunflower seed will not grow.  However, it appears that the shells from the nyjer seed (the birds hull the nyjer seed to eat it) have built up over the winter and now I have a this nice hill beneath my feeder which is now part of my bumpy lawn.

As a bird seed manufacturer, my testing ground is often my own backyard.  I test different types of nuts, different types of bird seed and try to confirm existing theories on bird seed preferences etc.  So I end up with problem areas in my lawn.  However, if you are a gardener first and a bird feeder second, and want to avoid these problems here are some tips:

1. Feed a no-mess mix like our Mother Nature's No Mess Gardener's Mix.  The seeds in this mix will not sprout under the feeder and do not have any seed hulls so you should not get built up waste under your feeder.  
2. Feed sunflower chips. We use the term "chips" for the sunflower seeds that have had the seed hulls removed (sunflower hearts or kernels is another term for these).  Our biggest seller is the medium sunflower chips (which are sunflower kernels that have been chopped into medium sized chunks).  These will not germinate under the feeder and will not cause any shell build up.  
3. Beware sunflower shells.  While birds love sunflower seed, the shells left over from the hulled seed is hard on the lawn and will prevent the lawn from growing below.  Also you may find some pretty sunflower germinating beneath the feeder.  You can prevent this by gathering up the shells as much as possible or by covering the ground with a piece of tarp to act as a hull catcher during the winter when feeding sunflower seed and gathering this up in the spring.  

I haven't quite given up on the gardening but I do recognize that my yard will not be Martha Stewart's.  That is OK with me though, because my garden is full of interesting feathered visitors that provide me with much enjoyment.