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Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie
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Mar 29, 2012 10:40AM
Bees, butterflies & birds... What do you plant to attract them to your garden?
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I've found that in temperate regions all you really need to attract birds is colour and dense foliage. Bees are pretty easy to coax as well, especially the bumbles. Butterflies are somewhat particular, though.
I started a rather large flower garden last year with the goal of attracting butterflies and hummingbirds. It is still a work in progress but some of the plants I used that were successful in attracting butterflies are zinnias,milkweed,butterfly bush,latana,catmint, StJohn'swort,petunnias,JoePyeweed,dill,chives,parsley,bee balm,oregano,salvia,annual asters and nasturgium.Hollyhock,daylilies,foxglove,columbine,fuchsia,morning glory,cardinal flower,rose of sharon and trumpet vine were particularly attractive to the hummingbirds.
(I placed the trumpet vine in a container because it is very invasive)
Like Pangolin pointed out,birds (and butterflies) are attracted to color,especially reds and oranges.My garden is full of birds but I have placed feeders and bird houses in my yard designed to attract certain species.In addition to flowers,all birds need a water source. Bird baths are pretty additions to the garden and hanging water containers also work well. I placed a battery-operated "water wiggler" in my bird bath because I'm told that birds are attracted to moving water.
Butterflies get their water from the ground. I have a small area near the butterfly bush where I placed some small rocks and a plastic lined hole filled with dirt.(I actually burried a small plastic food container).I fill the container with water and it provides a muddy area where butterflies can drink. The rocks provide warm surfaces that butterflies need for sunning.
I have a horseradish tree, the hummingbirds love the white blossom, as do the bumblebees. I hang half coconut shells in the trees with some sugar water for the bananaquits. The pearly-eyed thrashers - thrushies -eat anything, they even come in the house for the cat food. And I can't get rid of the fowl. Nothing puts them off.
I have never seen a horseradish tree,Petra. I will definitely take a look at that.The birds in my area also like holly,dogwood,and my weeping cherry tree.
I forgot to mention sunflowers! All of the birds loved them!
Just looked up the horseradish. Beautiful tree! Unfortunately it looks like a tropical species. I do envy your location, Petra.
Petra,do you eat the fruit from this tree?I love the pictures online.
No, its never set fruit. The Guyanese round here eat the roots, horseradishy apparently.
Just brainstorming,Jo. The butterflies also liked blanket flowers and daisies last summer.Our wisteria has definitely proved itself to be a bee magnet.Although it is beautiful,it is a very invasive plant.
I've found the butterflies like anything purple, white & yellow in my garden about the best. Goldfinches love the yellow butterfly bush and sunflowers in my garden. The humingbirds love anything bright red in my garden as well. The bees seem to be a bit more particular. While they do love the sunflowers, they tend to frequent my roses, sedum & butterfly bushes more than anything else.
I have feeders out for the birds and for hummingbirds. My cats love to watch the activity and chatter at them. Of course, with feeders, I also have squirrels attempting to get at the feeders. Some are squirrel proof, but I have some made out of farming parts- disks- that the squirrels can access so I put safflower seeds in them. I had read that squirrels don't like safflower seeds. They left them alone all winter, but the other day I saw one eating the safflower seeds! Bummer! I also have a small pond with a fountain to keep the water circulating. It is a rock with a small copper pipe sticking up. The noise also attracts wildlife.
In the fall I try to leave a pile of sticks unburned until spring to provide some shelter for the critters. And they also live in the old toolshed, under it, and under the woodshop. My old barn/ garage also is full of holes, so critters of all sorts get in there. I left a dead tree for many years so critters could use it, but the church people next door kept standing around staring at it in groups like they were afraid it was going to fall on the church so I succumbed to pressure and had it cut down. (The men, not the women, and they would point to it, so I KNOW the tree was the focus of the discussion- not being paranoid!)
One benefit of the birds is that I have several "volunteer" trees that they have planted for me- a hackberry, a sycamore, and a tulip tree (poplar) as well as the sand cherry and crabapples.
Wish you could come visit some day, Petra!
My best bee magnet is asters. Once they bloom I don't dare mow anywhere near them as I learned the hard way bees don't care for the sound of the mower.
Recently read an article linking the bee die off to a new pesticide released in 2005. Sorry I forgot to link it. I figured it was pesticides. They even explained why the bees are dying out in the fields and not in the hives.
Our first hummingbird of the season visited my garden today. The hummers are early this year, they don't usually make an appearance here until at least late May or early June.
Saw my first bumblebee and butterfly when working outside yesterday. The bumbler was all over the blooms on my plumeria, I just love to watch them! The butterfly seemed kind of lost and it was a kind I had not seen before. Black and orange, but not a monarch.
Cheryl,I was excited when I saw a few butterflies in my yard a couple weeks ago. A painted lady,a skipper, black swallow tail and a yellow swallow tail. They all looked a bit confused. I didn't have enough blossoms to interest them at the time but I am hoping that they may have laid eggs in my host plants.I haven't seen any since except the little white ones that have been around now for six weeks or so. Here's hoping the birds don't eat the caterpillars!
peg wrote: "Cheryl,I was excited when I saw a few butterflies in my yard a couple weeks ago. A painted lady,a skipper, black swallow tail and a yellow swallow tail. They all looked a bit confused. I didn't hav..."I was shocked when I saw the one here as it's been down to freezing most nights recently. They're probably as confused by the weather we're having as I am.
LOL. I think everything is confused. When I look at all the plants in bloom and all the insects moving around,I can't believe that it is only April. Our night temperatures have been in the mid 30s and 40s. It is so tempting to jump the gun and plant prematurely but I remember times when we had snow in April. It will be interesting to see what this summer brings. Tonight we are enjoying some much-needed rain.
I wish we would get more rain. The pollen is terrible right now as well as it being dry.
