Attracting Birds into Your Garden with Flowers Can Be Easy and Inexpensive

Attracting birds into your yard with flowers is easy!

When planning your garden you should consider starting some of your plants from seed.

Starting your flowers with seed offers you a much wider selection of plants. For example, your local nursery or home center may offer one or two types of zinnias. But a seed catalog may offer ten or more varieties. Besides variety, starting your flowers from seeds can be very economical.

A single pack of seeds, that will cost about $2.00, may have 50 or more seeds! Imagine how much you would pay for that many plants in containers.

When planning a bird garden you will probably start with trees and shrubs. Trees and shrubs offer food, shelter and nesting sites. But flowers offer food in the form of seed, which will make attracting birds easier.

You will enjoy the beautiful blossoms and the birds will enjoy the seeds that the blossoms leave behind. Attracting birds will also help you control insects in your garden, limiting the need for pesticides.

Here are a few tips for a bird-friendly flower garden:

There are a variety of flowers for attracting birds into your garden.

Use plants that will flower at different times of the year. This will provide you with blossoms and the birds with seeds all year around.
Let at least some of the blossoms to go toseed. As the blossoms and their seeds fall to the ground, just leave them. The birds will clean them up for you.

Contact your local garden club, nursery or home center for information about flower gardening.

Here is a list of a few of my favorite flowers for attracting birds.

Why These Are My Favorites:

They are all easy to grow.
They will thrive in most conditions.
Some bloom from spring to fall.
They include a wide variety of colors.

But attracting birds is something that they all have in common.

Aster

The Aster produce large clusters of delicate daisy-like flowers in white, purple, lavender, pink or red.

Asters should be planted in moist, well-drained soil in full sun, but they will tolerate light shading.

Perennial: zones 4 through 9.

Marigold

The marigold is a fast-growing annual. They grow as single or double flowers ranging in color from orange to bronze to red.

Marigolds they will grow in all zones. Marigolds require full sun and well-drained soil.

Annual

Coreopsis

Coreopsis is a bright and colorful perennial that will last and last. Seed-eating birds love the seeds the coreopsis produces as the yellow blooms fade.

Coreopsis will work well in any type of border. Because of their long bloom time, they make great fillers or edgers.

Perennial:zones 3 through 9.

Cornflower

The cornflower (Bachelor's Button) is a drought tolerant annual. The upper half of the plant is multi-stemmed, producing many flowers. Leaves are covered with small white hairs causing the plant to have a blue-gray appearance.

The original flower color is blue, but it is now available in white, pink and red. The cornflower prefers full sun and grows in various soil types.

Perennial: zones 4 through 9.

Cosmos

Cosmos are annuals that produce daisy-like flowers in shades of crimson, rose, pink and white with yellow centers up to 3 1/2" across. They will bloom all summer.

Cosmos prefer full sun, regular water and well-drained soil. Deadhead flowers for repeat bloom. Their size at maturity is 3 to 6 feet tall and 18 inches across.

Annual

Larkspur

The Larkspur is an annual that looks identical to perennial delphiniums. They have tall beautiful spikes with petaled flowers. They come in a variety of shades of blue, purple, lilac, white, rose and pink.

They are said to grow about three feet high. Plant them at the back of your garden, use them as a border or grow them along a fence.

Annual

Portulaca

Portulaca or moss rose is an annual that produces flowers in bright reds, oranges, yellows, purples and pinks with green, succulent leaves. Portulaca grows 4 to 8 inches tall and spreads up to 2 feet, making it a great ground cover.

Annual

Purple Coneflower

Purple Coneflower is easy to grow, blooms across a long season and has beautiful flowers. It is a native perennial and attractive to birds, if allowed to go to seed late in summer. The purple coneflower is perfect for attracting birds and butterflies.

Goldfinches love this plant in late summer as long as the gardener can refrain from deadheading after mid-July. The purple coneflower requires full sun and well-drained garden soil rich in organic matter.

Perennial: zones 4 through 9.

Sunflower

The sunflower is the perfect annual for attracting birds. Watching birds feed from the mature flowers can be really special. It may be stating the obvious, but sunflowers love the sun. Sunflowers grow in almost any type of soil.

Choose soil that's rich and well drained, but if you don't have that kind of soil, add peat moss or other humus and mix thoroughly before planting. You can save some of your sunflowers for winter by putting a paper grocery sack over the seed head and tying it around the stem.

Annual

Zinnias

Zinnias are old-fashioned easy to grow annuals. The birds are attracted to their brilliant colors.

This annual takes off if planted directly in the ground or started in flats.

Zinnias will attract many wild birds including hummingbirds and Goldfinches.

Annual

I truly enjoy watching wild birds feeding from my bird feeders. But there is something special about attracting birds into my garden with flowers. Seeing birds feeding in a more natural setting,like a patch of zinnias, is really special.