Top tips for attracting birds to the garden
On a sunny day, there’s nothing more satisfying than sitting in your flourishing garden and watching the birdlife enjoy and appreciate the fruits of your labour. Thanks to our partners at PlantsPlus, we’ve got the top tips on the best plants to entice our feathered friends to the garden.
Grevillea “Robyn Gordon”
Grevillea “Robyn Gordon” is a feast for our feathered friends year round because it’s almost always in flower. You´ll love its spectacular deep red flowers and decorative foliage. “Superb” is another top choice. The name says it all, this showy Grevillea displays stunning apricot-orange flowers in virtually every season.
Callistemons
Callistemons such as “Mary MacKillop” are both beautiful and bird attracting, with striking lime-green new growth and showy red flower brushes throughout spring and summer. At two-and-a-half metres tall, this dense weeping shrub makes an ideal screen or loose hedge.
Kangaroo Paw
A New Holland Honeyeater drinking from a Kangaroo Paw is a sight to behold. As the name suggests the colourful nectar-rich flowers are shaped like a fuzzy kangaroo paw and grace our gardens through spring and summer. Choose from compact varieties just 50 centimetre tall like the deep yellow flowering “Cross of Gold” which is perfect for pots, to larger robust varieties like the bright orange flowered “Rampaging Roy Slaven” which is a real showpiece in the garden.
Correas
During the cooler months you can rely on a wide range of Correas to keep the birds happy. Correa “Tucker Time Multi Bella” is a small spreading shrub about half a metre tall. It displays pretty dusky pink and yellow bells from autumn right through to spring. It makes a lovely informal hedge or decorative container plant.
Banksias
Don´t forget the impressive choices provided by Banksias. If you only have a small space you could plant the compact-growing Banksia “Birthday Candles” in decorative pots and watch the birds flock to your patio or balcony.
Colourful assortments
Beyond nectar rich plants, try growing a colourful assortment of flowering beauties. You´ll not only attract insects but insect-eating birds like wrens, Willie wagtails, and thornbills. Remember to throw in a few plants with edible seeds or berries too to keep seed-eating birds happy. She-oaks and Blueberry Ash trees are a good choice. The key is to feature plants which flower at different times of year so birds don´t go hungry when the choice of seasonal flowers is limited.
Water
Water is important too, both for drinking and bathing. Ponds provide a decorative feature in the garden as well as a good source of water for birds, but predators like cats can be a problem at ground level, so place a rock or perching log at the centre of your water feature, away from the edges so birds feel safe. In smaller gardens use a birdbath or shallow dish positioned off the ground, but be sure to top the water up regularly. Your local Plants Plus Garden Centre has a wonderful range of decorative birdbaths to choose from.
Thorns
Plants with thorns or prickly foliage provide a good hiding place for smaller birds. They can find refuge in the spiny canopy keeping them safe from cats and other predators. Small birds also often build nests in prickly plants. Try planting Sweet Bursaria (Bursaria spinosa) with dense prickly branches and masses of pretty white flowers during summer or Prickly Moses (Acacia verticillata) with cheery yellow flower balls in winter and spring. Hakea verrucosa is another winter beauty with red flowers and needle-like foliage, which provides much-needed protection for small birds.
Tree Hollows
Other birds like kookaburras, owls and rosellas like to nest in tree hollows. Not many gardens have natural hollows, so you might like to construct or buy a nesting box that can be mounted or tied to a tree in the backyard.
First appeared on PlantsPlus website. Visit them here for more tips and inspiration for your garden.
Related links:
The best places to go birdwatching around Australia
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