Sanctuaries

Easy ways to attract feathered friends to a yard of any size.

- Rachel Maidl

Your favorite backyard fliers aren’t picky about the size of your garden. They are far more interested in the food and shelter you offer. Whether you’re working with square acres or square feet, use small-space gardening strategies to create your best bird oasis.

Melinda Myers, Birds & Blooms’ resident gardening expert and author of Small Space Gardening, is well-versed in designing for compact areas, and skillfully transformed her own small city lot. Her best advice: “Start with a plan. This is even more important with small yards since you have limited space to accomplish your goal of creating an attractive area for you and the wildlife you are trying to invite in.”

Focus on the Basics

“Just like us, animals need food, shelter, water and a place to raise their young. If you focus on these essentials, they’ll come to your landscape,” Melinda says.

Make every square inch count with compact plants that thrive in your growing conditions, are native to your area, offer seeds or berries, and provide a place for birds to nest.

“Include some seed-producing plants like coneflower. Allow them to set seed, along with annuals like cosmos and salvia, and watch the birds come to dine,” Melinda says.

She added that ageratum, pentas, cuphea, phlox, lantana, zinnia, dill and other herbs are also ideal for attracting wildlife. If you are looking to draw in more pollinators and butterflies but don’t have a ton of extra space, swamp milkweed and butterfly weed are more contained than common milkweed and are excellent sources of nectar.