Easy ways to attract feathered friends to a yard of any size.
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.
Denne historien er fra April/May 2019-utgaven av Birds & Blooms.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra April/May 2019-utgaven av Birds & Blooms.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Sense or Nonsense? - Why some birds can taste and smell - but others can't
Does a porcelain berry taste like a blueberry to a gray catbird? Does a block of lard smell like frying bacon to a northern flicker? The short answer is no. While some avian species do have a well-adapted sense of taste or smell, they can't distinguish between flavors and odors the way humans can. They're not picking up every ingredient in the suet you put out, says José Ramírez-Garofalo, an ornithology researcher at Rutgers University in New Jersey and the director of Freshkills Biological Station in Staten Island, New York.
Maple Mania - Amazing facts about this fall foliage mainstay
Amazing facts about this fall foliage mainstay
Food-Focused and Fierce - Meet Canada jays and learn why they eat almost anything they can find
Even if you haven't heard of Canada jays, you've heard of their relatives. Members of the corvid family, they belong to the same group as American crows, blackbilled magpies, and jays including blue, Steller's and scrub. "Unlike many of the other jays, a Canada jay doesn't have a crest of any kind; it just has a rounded head," says Dale Gentry, director of conservation for Audubon Upper Mississippi River.In 2018, the Canada jay's name was changed from gray jay, but Dale thinks the former adjective was fitting. "Most of its body is shades of gray with some white," he says. "There are different subspecies that have different physical traits, but most of them have some lighter coloring on their foreheads, upper breasts and throats, each with a darker streak that starts at each eye and goes back."
IN GOOD COMPANY
BIRDS OF A FEATHER MAY FLOCK TOGETHER, but what about other collectives of critters-and what do you call them when they do?
YOUR OWN Perfect Prairie
Learn how to cultivate an oasis of grassland flora in your backyard
ON THE MOVE
Birds approach the challenges of migration in surprising ways. Learn about how they walk, swim or take the scenic route during their travels.
Autumn Wonders
Fall colors offer befitting backdrops for these stunning reader photos
Sparrow Look-Alikes
Distinct sounds help separate these similar species
Embracing the Darkness
From black plants to moody decor, Gothic garden elements can offer a unique outlet to express your dark side
Red-Hot Plants
Scarlet-hued berries add a pop of color to any garden