Attract Wild Birds-Landscaping-Seeds-Plants-Flowers

Landscaping helps attract wild birds. The colors and odors plants and flowers give off draws them in as well as other wild life.  Every yard has the ability to bring in wild birds be it cardinals,song sparrows,finch or blackbirds.  Of course the wild birds being attracted depends on your location and the landscaping conditions available to you.  All areas of the country are able to landscape with potted plants.  Potted pots allows you to be creative in the pots design and the flowers planted in them.   The pots can spruce up any area be it a doorway,path or just an area which is considered a wasted space.  The landscape you wish to achieve can be done by adding flowers that contribute to your goals.  Planting annuals such as saliva,impatience,fuchsias and greenery will attract wild birds such as hummingbirds and wrens.  Wrens love to nest in flower pots so be careful when you go to water the flowers and of course, the hummers love the sweet treat of nectar.  Annuals planted in the yard make beautiful beds which will attract the wild birds and wild life.  Butterflies abound when certain annuals are planted.  There are many seeds available for planting annuals if you have a green thumb and patience.  I ,however, don't have the green thumb for seeds so I purchase my annuals in flats where they are already growing showing me their colors and shapes.  This saves me time and I can plan my landscaping accordingly.  Cosmo plants are a good starter plant.. They grow 3-4 feet in height with fern like foliage.  They are quite wispy looking but have pretty white,hot pink,red or mauve flowers with a yellow center.  When mature the center yields many thin seeds that attract wild birds such as goldfinch and sparrows.  The flower itself  fades quickly but they keep blooming for a long period of time so as the seed heads are being eaten by the birds more are still growing.  Many of the seeds will fall to the ground thus allowing ground feeding birds(song sparrows and towhees)to feast.  The ground feeders will forage for these seeds into the winter months.  Cosmo are self seeding so don't be surprised to to see them appear the following year in the garden.  Another good plant to landscape with are zinnias.  Their bold bright array of colors livens up even the most drab areas in a yard.  They are also easy to grow from seed if you wish.  Zinnias have a long growing season and offer wild birds tasty seeds too.  They also make a great cut flower bouquet for the house. They come in various heights so landscaping with them gives you lots of options.  Their flowers can be daisy like or more pom pom like  with  double petals.  Sunflowers with their bright big yellow heads are a magnet for attracting wild birds.  Their oil rich seeds give birds the nutrients they need for their diets. Sunflower plants come in various heights and some varieties have a branching habitat that offers multiple flowers.  Mexican sunflowers offer red as their coloring so that can add a different look to the landscaping area.  Wild birds such as goldfinch will perch on the seed head to feast and extract the delicious seeds.  Seeds falling to the ground are gobbled up by cardinals,song sparrows and juncos.  Sunflowers make good windbreakers if planted in rows of varying height. Sunflowers can be annual plants or perennial plants so be aware of the type you are purchasing if it makes a difference in your landscaping plans.  Perennials are the backbone or spine of the garden.  They should be included in landscaping plans for attracting wild birds and wild life.  They can act as accent or focal points of the garden beds. Landscaping with perennials is a little more trying in the beginning but as the plants mature you'll appreciate them more.  Once matured their dense leaf and stem structure will keep out weeds giving you more time to spend watching the birds.  We've already discussed the sunflower family of plants so what other flowers are good starting perennials that will attract wild birds.  Keep in mind perennials also offer birds more than just seeds,they offer protection for ground birds to nest and to hide.  They allow ground birds to eat fallen seeds that have been captured in their leaves also.  Black eye Susan,rubeckias and daises are good plants to start a garden bed.  These flowers offer seeds well into the fall months and come up year after year yielding formidable dense clumps for birds and wildlife to hide in.  They  attract many butterflies and other insects thus attracting wild birds that are insect eating such as flycatchers and warblers.  Coneflowers grow about 24 inches and have bee hive like seed centers which mature into thistle like seeds enjoyed by goldfinch and house finch. They come mostly in pink or white but you can find the newer varieties in oranges and yellows.   Be aware that other wild life (deer.chipmunks and rabbits) find these flowers appealing  and quite appetizing.  You may need a deterrent if you wish to keep these plants or just plant alot of them. They all are very attractive in beds.Butterflies flock to these flowers and to phlox flowers too.  Phlox flowers come in pink.orange red,purple and white.  The tubular  flowers are clustered together drawing nectar feeding wild birds to them.  Mix annuals and perennials together to get a diversified look and attract lots of wild birds to your gardens.  Landscape a few areas where you can let the plants go a little wild for birds and wild life don't care if the gardens are neat and formal they kike a more natural look.  It better suits their needs.  Add some water features(birdbaths) and some well placed bird feeders to the landscaping to get full enjoyment from the wild birds you are attracting.  Visit my website www.WildBirdSeedMart.com to find some feeders and birdbaths that may enhance your landscaping schemes.