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Does your lawn and garden provide
cover and safety for birds, butterflies, and other wildlife that you want to
attract to your property? Are there several natural food sources available
for your animal and bird friends all year long? How about suitable nesting sites for the birds? Can birds
find shelter from the elements?
Trees and shrubs in your lawn and garden areas can provide all of these very important requirements
and at the same time add beauty and value to your property.
Birds need areas that provide protection from predators as well as from inclement weather.
Many attractive shrubs and trees offer this protection very well and also offer nesting sites in the spring and
summer, especially when equipped with durable and attractive birdhouses.
Consider evergreens such as pines,
fir, and holly. Hardwood trees and shrubs also provide for excellent nesting sites and roosting areas for the birds in the spring and summer.
Also consider tall grasses that provide cover for ground nesting birds and a place to scurry to
during poor weather.
In addition to providing nesting sites, trees and shrubs can also provide
natural food for many birds. While you should have birdfeeders in your yard, to attract the
best variety of birds you can also provide natural food sources.
Birds are not normally taught by their parents to
dine at birdfeeders. Most young birds are taught to forage for their food and
learn to utilize birdfeeders later. Also, some birds do not eat bird seed.
Instead, they eat insects, fruit, buds, nectar and nuts. These food sources
are well-provided with trees and shrubs in your lawn and garden.
Different trees and shrubs flower or produce fruit at different times. It is
recommended that you plant a variety of species with different flowering or fruiting
times to provide bird food throughout the entire year.
Plant trees and shrubs that produce food in
the fall and some that keep their fruit throughout the entire winter. Shrubs
that flower and bear fruit in the summer include blackberries, raspberries, mulberry, and blueberries.
Migratory birds need trees and shrubs that bear in the fall such as dogwoods,
winterberries, and mountain ash.
And don't forget to include some shrubs that
keep their fruit throughout the entire winter, such as snowberries, holly, and sumacs.
Hummingbirds, orioles, and lovely butterflies love trees and shrubs that produce nectar.
These include crabapples, azaleas, and butterfly bushes.
And last but not least, don't forget the trees that produce nuts, acorns, and
pinecones. You can plant hickories, oaks, pines, walnuts and many others to add color, beauty and
lots of birds for your viewing pleasure.
By planting trees and shrubs, you can
increase your property value while helping to provide food and shelter for our
furry and feathered friends!
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