Fall migrants like Blackpoll Warblers rely on lipid-rich berries, including those of roughleaf dogwood (Cornus drumondii), to refuel along their arduous journeys.
“In nature, there are neither rewards nor punishments; there are consequences.”
—ROBERT GREEN INGERSOLL (1833–1899)
The previous chapter ended with a question we promised to answer: In order to include plants that support the most insects and feed the most birds but still look terrific in your landscaping, what should you plant? It’s no simple question, and so of course, it has no simple answer. If you’re starting your landscape or garden with a blank canvas, you have the world at your feet. Go for it! But if, like most of us, you already have some degree of landscape in place (although probably not entirely native), you may be puzzled about how to proceed.
We have a plan, however, to take you through the decision-making process so that the answers will be specifically appropriate for your yard, your situation, your birdscape. That means, of course, that we’ll take into consideration the size of your yard or garden—super-sized, mid-sized, mini-sized, or a pots-and-patio space.
Here’s the plan. In this chapter:
1. We’ll inventory your yard and immediate neighborhood, recording bird habitat assets—tallying up what’s there that birds need—and drawing your yard’s layout to scale on graph paper.
2. We’ll analyze what the inventory says about bird habitat liabilities—tallying up what’s missing that birds need. We’ll also analyze your yard’s growing conditions since they directly affect what can thrive where.
3. We’ll help you organize a plan to eliminate the liabilities—zeroing in on the habitat components birds need but that are lacking in your yard. The plan will pave the way for deciding what kinds of plants—trees, shrubs, vines, perennials—and how many of each you can consider.
As we walk you through the inventory, analysis, and organization, however, we’ll keep three promises:
1. We will not suggest planting natives for the sake of planting natives.
2. We will suggest native plants that fill the gaps in your bird habitat.
3. We will recommend native plants that expand the biodiversity in your birdscape.
So, let’s get going. To begin, you’ll need to take an inventory of what you have, both in your yard and in your immediate neighborhood, remembering that birds don’t recognize property lines.
Let’s start by making a yard map that inventories what’s in your space. As we progress through inventory, analysis, and organization, we’ll continue building on this map, so start with a large piece of graph paper—maybe several sheets taped together, depending on your yard size. Since space matters—both what space is in use and what space is available for use—you should verify dimensions with a tape measure, translating the measurements to scale on your map. The resulting “picture” of your yard will serve you well in making planting decisions later—decisions about not only what kinds of plants and which specific plants but where they can be planted. Important stuff!
Follow these steps:
1. On graph paper, outline your property boundaries.
2. Sketch in the footprints of your house, patio, sidewalks, garage, storage shed, driveway, pool, and any other permanent structures.
3. Graph tree canopy diameters.
4. Along property boundaries, graph neighboring trees.
5. Mark the locations and space taken up by shrubs.
6. Sketch in other plantings, including vines, perennials, brambles, ornamental grasses, etc.
7. Designate any other landscape elements, like trellises, arbors, pergolas, terraces, boulders, fences, sculptures, or permanently placed fountains and other water features.
Analyze what’s in your yard as well as what’s in the neighborhood. No need to plant eastern red cedars (Juniperus virginiana) if the adjoining neighbor already has a lovely stand.
8. Identify the locations of utility wires, both overhead and underground.
9. Make note of gas lines, water lines, and drain lines. If you’re unsure about underground utilities, make the call before you dig—or even plan to dig.
10. Determine any rights-of-way that adjoin your property that might allow another party to disrupt anything you plant in or near that space.
The inventory takes some time, but in the overall scheme of things, it’s essential. Your graphic to-scale map becomes the basis on which most other decisions will be made.
The next step is to analyze what’s there, what it means, and what’s missing—rather like measuring assets and liabilities.
Begin your analysis with the bare space on your graph. I’m guessing that space likely represents lawn. For the most part, lawn is a liability. How much of that space now occupied by lawn can you use—or are you willing to use—to plant something else instead?
Here’s a thought to mull over: Lawn is the second-most-desertlike place in the ecosystem. Second to what? Pavement. So if you’re mowing grass, you have room to change directions and replace lawn with natives, turning a liability into an asset.
Let’s rethink lawn. Historically, humans felt compelled to maintain low, open vegetation around their abodes in order to better spot approaching tigers, lions, bears, or other serious predators. These days, most of us don’t have vicious, life-threatening predators lurking in the thicket, watching our every move, awaiting the perfect moment to attack. Still, we continue to plant and mow lawn, using mostly exotic grasses from a half a world away, creating vast, desertlike places. To birds, lawn is a wasteland. It’s risky business flying across open spaces. And lawn treated with pesticides becomes, for birds, a toxic dump.
With homes enlarging their footprints and with more and more homes paving the landscape, we would be smart to change our ways—for the sake of the planet. If we added landscape, not lawn, we would also improve our personal living conditions. Further, by rethinking the proportions of lawn and landscape, we can actually help birds survive. Terrific asset, don’t you think?
Try this: Instead of tucking landscape into vast lawns, consider making lawn a spot or two tucked within the landscape—an edge of lawn along the front walk, perhaps, or next to an outdoor dining area. Period. Skip the gargantuan gas-guzzling, pollution-spewing lawnmower. Think five minutes with a weed whacker! Or plant native low-mow or no-mow grass or sedge or perhaps a bee lawn (more on these later) and pitch the weed whacker, too. Would you really miss all the work—and expense—of caring for a lawn?
Mowing only paths and borders in super-sized yards gives a parklike appearance and permits natives to grow naturally among understory vegetation. “Letting the yard go natural,” however, requires careful oversight since most “volunteers” will likely be nonnative, usually Asian species, maybe even invasives.
Okay, maybe you can’t quite give up lawn entirely—yet. Maybe another option will better work for you. Try this goal: Cut the grass in half. Use the other half to improve bird habitat with trees, shrubs, vines, and perennials—maybe even a clump or two or three of native ornamental grasses. Just think about all the oxygen you’ll be putting into your personal atmosphere! Cutting the lawn in half reduces its liability by half and increases assets by 50 percent. Good step!
Before we get ahead of ourselves, however, consider this caveat: Even if you’re willing to eliminate all lawn, don’t take the step in one giant leap. The more you do at once, the more potential you have for mistakes. While landscaping mistakes can almost always be undone, usually within a year or less, the fix can be expensive. So analyze the space for the entire property and make plans for meeting your final goals, but ultimately focus on only a portion at a time. Most landscape transfigurations are longtime works in progress. The more we do to expand the biodiversity, the more benefits we see as more-diverse birds discover the habitat. Then we want to do even more!
Fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica), its pollen and berries attractive to wildlife, serves as an attractive 2-foot-tall ground cover that adds to the biodiversity of the habitat.
WHAT IS
Biodiversity?
Biodiversity is a portmanteau of “biological diversity,” referring to the variety of life in a given location. In its broadest scope, examining biodiversity takes into account all living organisms, down to the microbes, found within a given area—in the air, on land, and in water. For our purposes, of course, we’re talking about the diversity of plants in your yard and the critters they attract, from bugs to birds.
In general, we would expect that the more native plant species in a given space, the more animal species the space supports. Within my own plot, since I’ve added many more natives, I’ve noticed a big uptick in the number of not only birds but also other critters scooting about, like frogs, toads, and skinks. They all love bugs, and my habitat now gives them ample places to live. I never used to see them. It’s another measure of the habitat’s increased biodiversity, which has also led to an increase in biomass. Hooray!
Since birds don’t recognize property lines, however, neighborhood diversity is as important as yard diversity. Take into account this broader tally of plant diversity as you analyze your yard, including its composition in your larger neighborhood.
Okay, so let’s take a look at what else your inventory shows and analyze what’s there, in your yard and in the neighborhood yards. Just as a note of comfort, no one can have everything in a single yard, but adding to the neighborhood’s biodiversity serves as a reasonable goal.
Use the following questions as a guide to your analysis. As you identify plants, mark their identities on your yard map, perhaps listing neighbors’ plants in the margins. Here we go with 20 questions:
1. What kinds of oak trees are in my yard and/or my close neighbors’ yards?
2. What kinds of deciduous trees, other than oaks, are in my yard and/or my neighbors’ yards?
3. What kinds of evergreen or semievergreen trees are in my yard and/or my neighbors’ yards?
4. Do any of the trees offer winter shelter for birds? Which ones?
5. Do any of the trees produce nectar for birds or pollinators? Which ones and during which season(s)?
6. Do any of the trees produce seeds, berries, or fruit suitable for birds? Which ones? During which season(s)?
7. Which shrubs or tall understory plants do I and/or my neighbors have? Are they deciduous, evergreen, or semievergreen?
8. Do any of the shrubs or tall understory plants offer winter shelter for birds? Which ones?
9. Do any of the shrubs or tall understory plants produce nectar for birds and pollinators? Which ones and during which season(s)?
10. Do any of the shrubs or tall understory plants support bugs in any form—adult, egg, or larval?
11. Do any of the shrubs or tall understory plants produce seeds, berries, or fruits for birds? Which ones? In which seasons do the seeds, berries, or fruits ripen?
12. What kinds of vines do I have on my property?
13. Do the vines offer winter shelter?
14. Do the vines produce nectar for birds and pollinators? When?
15. Do the vines produce any seeds, berries, or fruit for birds? When?
16. What herbaceous perennials are growing either on my property or adjoining my property boundaries?
17. Which of these perennials support bugs in any form—adult, egg, or larval?
18. Which of these perennials produce nectar for birds and pollinators? When?
19. Which of these perennials produce seed for birds? When do seeds ripen?
20. Do I have any clumps of native grasses that produce seed for birds? When?
Let’s face it: Identifying unknown plants can be frustrating. If you find yourself struggling with some of the IDs, check plant guides, available at local libraries, nurseries, and online. If “keying out” a plant’s ID, however, was never part of your biology education, using such guides can be painstakingly slow. Consider contacting a local authority, perhaps your county extension agent, maybe your local botanical garden personnel, or possibly a Master Gardener, native-plant-society member, local botanist, or horticulturalist.
Once you’ve identified a plant, if you’re unsure whether or not it’s native, check the USDA Plant Database online (www.plants.usda.gov), where you can use either the common or scientific name to check a plant’s native status. If you wish, by zooming in on the maps, you can verify a plant’s status in your specific county.
Let’s say, in the course of your yard analysis, you’ve (very likely) found some nonnative plants. Of course, not all nonnative plants are created equal. Some nonnative plants are completely benign and cause no overt harm. They don’t emit toxins or spread like wildfire or threaten birds or other wildlife. Their only fault is that they just sit there taking up space that a more productive, more bird-friendly native plant could use. So they’re not really assets, but they’re not serious liabilities.
Other nonnative plants, however, are just plain trouble. They’re invasive, some extremely so. An invasive is defined, via a 1999 presidential executive order, as “a species that does not naturally occur in a specific area and whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.” It’s fairly obvious, then, that invasives deserve your special attention. And it’s fairly obvious that invasives are liabilities—sometimes extraordinarily serious liabilities.
One plant behavior that should rouse your suspicion is that the plant is very early green or very late green, sometimes even an all-winter green. Of course, we certainly have evergreens and semievergreens that are delightful, much-loved natives, so this early/late green or winter-long green habit isn’t a rule. But let your suspicions be resolved. Many nonnative plants, especially the more troublesome ones, tend to possess the quirky early-green, late-green habit. Unfortunately, their early green-up gives nonnatives a distinct advantage over natives, allowing them to form dense shade before native competitive sprouts can leaf out and gain a foothold. The result? The nonnatives can readily and quickly take over an area, crowding out any competition in the way. This behavior alone labels them as invasive.
Many nonnatives, like daylilies (Hemerocallis spp.), are generally benign but take up space that could be better used for natives that support wildlife. Still, some nonnatives provide a certain minimal sustenance, such as pollen for bees.
Invasive nonnative flowering pears have escaped yards and gardens, creating a monoculture along this highway, crowding out, as they multiply, everything else in their paths. Unfortunately, flowering pears are still being sold, usually touted as “sterile,” but when crossed with other Callery pears—by birds, bees, or breeze—they reproduce prolifically.
From the point of view of a homeowner, nonnative invasives dramatically affect the environment. They crowd out native species, sometimes by toxins emitted by the plants themselves. In doing so, they create a monoculture that is friendly neither to our native insects nor to our native birds—nor to any other form of native wildlife. In some cases, in fact, the nonnative invasives cause the demise, or at least general decline, of wildlife, including birds. These troublesome plants deplete natural wildlife forage, deplete native bugs, deteriorate surface and ground water and aquatic habitat, and deteriorate the soil. One result of all these bad habits is that the invasives further stress—and often extirpate—endangered native plants. Further, they hybridize with natives and thus deteriorate the native plants’ gene pools. They’re the true bad guys of the plant kingdom. Those are all serious liabilities in your landscape.
There are dozens and dozens of nonnative invasives, but even some of the bad guys are worse than others. So if, in the course of identifying plants in your yard, you discover any of the following Disaster Dozen invasives, you will do well to eradicate them. For the present, put a big red X through any of the Disaster Dozen you’ve identified on your yard map. Later, we’ll tell you how to deal with them and then provide an array of excellent native alternatives with which to replace them.
Keep in mind that even a single additional native plant adds to the natural biodiversity in your yard. It’s preferable to nonnatives and supremely superior to nonnative invasives. In fact, even a blank spot in the yard is preferable to any of the plants in the Disaster Dozen.
Invasive Bradford/Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana). Having escaped gardens and yards and hybridized with other Callery species, Bradford pears have spread to form miles-long monocultures along roadsides and in disturbed areas, disrupting the ecosystem and destroying biodiversity.
Invasive princess tree/royal paulownia (Paulownia tomentosa). A highly invasive Asian ornamental, it grows rapidly in disturbed places. Its root system is fire resistant, so it’s highly aggressive.
Invasive tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima). This Asian invasive threatens sewers and structures and quickly forms dense groves, annihilating natives as it spreads. Elimination is a long-term goal; be diligent. It can, however, be confused with desirable native staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina), ash (Fraxinus americana), or walnut trees (Juglans nigra or other Juglans spp.). Use caution when controlling it. Its sap is toxic and can cause cardiac issues.
Invasive bamboo (Phyllostachys spp.). Technically a giant grass, bamboo is one of the most aggressive of Asian introductions. Because bamboo can grow a foot a day and readily spread 20 feet in every direction within a short time, it’s a nightmare to control.
Invasive nandina/heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica). Colonizing via underground roots and seeds, nandina bush produces berries toxic to animals—and birds. Because the berries contain cyanide, flocks of Cedar Wax-wings have perished after gorging on them.
Invasive privets (Ligustrum spp.). Ligustrum privets form dense shade that prevents native seedlings from sprouting. Leaves are toxic to native bugs.
Invasive autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) and invasive Russian olive/oleaster (Elaeagnus angustifolia). Dense growth from both root and a single plant’s 200,000 seeds per year allow these bushes to crowd out natural selection and natural diversity. Difficult to eradicate since highway rights-of-way plantings keep reproduction at peak.
Invasive winged burning bush (Euonymus alatus). Burning bush has spread into woodlands, escaping gardens and yards, and has replaced the understory with vegetation deer refuse to browse, giving it an advantage over natives and ultimately replacing natives and reducing biodiversity. It forms a “seed shadow” around the original plant, spreading rapidly. Note that there is a native burning bush (Euonymus atropurpureus), sometimes called eastern wahoo. Check before you act.
Invasive Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) and related Tartarian (L. tatarica), Morrow’s (L. morrowii), and dwarf honeysuckles (L. xylosteum). Now spread through most of North America, invasive honeysuckles crowd out native vegetation with their deep root systems and dense shade, providing nutrient-poor berries that birds eat and then eliminate to further spread the bushes.
Invasive Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica). This invasive vine has no enemies. Since it’s evergreen or semi-evergreen, it has the advantage over any competing natives. Its tightly twisting vine strangles saplings and other new native growth in its path. A deep root system makes it tough to control and markedly resilient.
Invasive winter creeper/creeping euonymus (Euonymus fortunei). Shade-tolerant, this vine forms thick evergreen mats and climbs trees to bloom and reproduce. It covers, smothers, and strangles other plants. Waxy leaves limit the effectiveness of usual herbicides on this tough plant.
While hundreds of nonnatives have sprouted in our yards and gardens, some might be acceptable. I’ve already clarified that I’m not a purist, that the heritage plants from both of my grandmothers and my father as well as from close friends will always be a part of my garden, a part of my life. Perhaps you have the same nostalgic parts to your yard. I’m betting, though, that you’d want to eliminate noxious plants that wreak havoc on Mother Nature’s plan.
So revise your yard map accordingly. Add red Xs to your yard map, crossing out invasive plant(s), liabilities that you surely need to eradicate before you add natives.
Given your location in the eastern US, your yard or garden size, and the number of native, nonnative, and nonnative invasive species there, you have a good inventory of what’s what. You know your assets and liabilities—the good stuff, the bad stuff, and the missing stuff. Perhaps most significantly, you know how much space remains for planting.
So, what to plant? The answer to that question is the same as the answer to this question: What’s missing? Review your answers to the 20 questions. Do birds need more bug sources—trees, shrubs, vines, perennials, or grasses that host bugs? Do birds need more winter shelter, particularly additional evergreens? Do birds need more shelter for nesting? Can they find suitable nesting materials? Can birds find nectar in your yard during at least two seasons? Will seedeaters find sustenance during all four seasons? What about berries? Are they available during summer, fall, and winter, including through late winter? Can birds find water?
If your habitat lacks trees that host bugs, like oaks, willows, black cherries, and maples (red maple, Acer rubrum, shown here), birds like Black-throated Green Warblers won’t be stopping by for lunch.
Make a list of your yard’s liabilities. That list will serve as your set of goals for filling in what’s missing. Once it’s obvious what’s missing, you can zero in on the changes that will make the biggest difference in your yard.
With that set of goals in mind, you’ll need to take into account some natural elements of your plot of land.
In the course of figuring out what you can and cannot plant where, you’ll need to determine certain growing conditions over which you have little or no control, beginning with where sun and shade serve up their own form of assets and/or liabilities.
Since some plants grow best in full sun while others prefer part or full shade, you should make some careful observations about how sunlight passes across your yard. Some sunshine paths are obvious: The north side of structures will likely have full shade all day, while the south side will probably get full sun all day. The east side will get the cooler morning light, while the west side takes the brunt of hot afternoon sun. But trees and bushes—yours or your neighbors’—may shade some surprising places, and structures themselves cast shadows.
Check every two hours during the course of a full day to see what’s what in your yard, perhaps recording on a graph how sunlight and shade play across your property. If possible, record the sun’s path in mid-June and again in mid-December, on or near the dates of the summer and winter solstices when the sun reaches its northerly and southerly extremes. The graph will become a guide for choosing which plants go where.
The tongue-in-cheek definition of soil says that soil is the medium in which you plant, and dirt is what’s under your fingernails afterward. So let’s talk about soil. While professional agencies will do a soil analysis for you, local nurseries or county extension agents can likely identify predominant soil textures in the area. In simple layman’s terms, soil texture falls into five groups:
1. Clay soil is composed of tiny particles, so it holds water better than other soils. Since it holds on to water, it also holds on to plant nutrients, making it a rich soil for good growth. Wet clay is slippery but sticky, so it will easily form a ball when rolled in your hand. Dry clay is smooth to the touch. In spring, it’s slow to warm; and when dry, it’s heavy to work. Anything planted in clay soils needs to tolerate wet feet.
2. Silty soil is composed of particles slightly larger than that of clay. When wet, it’s soapy slick. Silty soil is slow to drain, so it compacts readily. To help reduce compaction, avoid walking on wet silty soil.
3. Sandy soil is composed of the largest particles of the three most common types of soil, so it holds practically no moisture. Since moisture runs through almost immediately, plant roots have little opportunity to gather nutrients. Only certain drought-tolerant plants will survive in sandy soil.
4. Peaty soil is found almost exclusively in boggy areas, so it’s unlikely to be in your yard. Formed from decaying organic material, it’s rich in nutrients and an excellent growing medium. As a result, peat has been used as an additive to some other soils to improve quality.
5. Loam is the gold-star standard for fine soil and what every gardener would die for. It contains about equal amounts of clay, silt, and sand, along with humus or peat. Given that combination, you can probably guess it’s a rare commodity. Almost all of us add compost to our yards and gardens to make the soil more loamy, so don’t despair if you think yours is less than the best. Fortunately, though, native plants find themselves at home in native soils.
If you’re really concerned, you can do a simple home soil-texture analysis. Scoop up a pint-sized representative sample of soil, put it in a glass container (like a quart jar), add enough water to liquefy the soil, shake well, and let it sit overnight. The soil will separate into bands with sand at the bottom, silt next up, clay following, and loam on top. The wider the band, the more predominant the soil-texture type. Remember, however, that native plants grow in native soils, so unless yours is a suburban lot that has been significantly altered by construction—excavated to remove topsoil or filled to cover topsoil—you can guess it’s close to right for natives.
Sometimes, though, distinctive small areas stand out within the larger yard. For instance, you may find a relatively rich patch of soil left from a previous owner’s having heavily composted a vegetable garden spot. Chances are you will find routinely poor soil abutting building foundations—typically a target for after-construction backfill. Since foundation plantings are popular starting points for landscaping, you’ll want to check.
A low wet spot in the yard is not a detriment, but rather an opportunity to plant natives that like wet feet, like cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), a hummingbird favorite.
In addition, you may find a low spot somewhere in the yard or garden that tends to stay moist—or maybe just plain wet. That’s not a negative! Such a spot can host a good many specialty plants that significantly enhance your habitat. Maybe you’ll choose to turn the spot into a rain garden. On the other hand, you may discover a sandy patch, soil that drains or dries more quickly than the rest of the yard or garden, again identifying special planting conditions. Maybe you’ll want to consider xeriscape landscaping there. In any case, the more varied the soil, the more varied your plantings. The resulting plant diversity enhances the bird diversity!
Pull out that yard/garden map again and note special areas that may qualify for special plants, or at least special attention. You’ll more easily improve your assets and decrease your liabilities by understanding soil conditions in your plot of land.
Some yards are flapjack flat. Berms of varying size and shape have become popular means by which to convert flat to undulating, adding interest to the topography and an alternate soil texture to the overall surroundings. Since soil introduced to form the berm will likely be quite different from soils elsewhere in the yard or garden, be alert to how those differences affect what will readily grow there.
In addition to soil differences, be alert to the probability that, regardless of soil texture, berms will drain more quickly than the remainder of the flat yard. Thus, anything planted on the berm should probably be either drought tolerant or a target for heavy irrigation. Creating a need to irrigate, however, seems to me to defeat one of the purposes of planting native. To put it simply, since one of the goals of a native garden is to reduce water use, a berm needs special consideration. Its primary use may be to direct rainwater into a rain garden!
If you’re lucky, however, you’ll have some change in elevation across your yard or garden that will accommodate layered plantings and a variety of wet- to dry-loving plants. Steep slopes, however, offer opportunities to select plants that have especially deep root systems and a reputation for holding soil. Certainly folks don’t want their backyard slope to slide down into the neighbor’s yard. While rock or soil terracing often becomes the go-to solution, native plants may resolve the issues with far less work and far less expense.
Add notations about these matters to your map.
Given your yard analysis, you will most certainly face a few restrictions when you get ready to select your native plants. If you live in Michigan, for instance, you’re too far north for rose mallow (Hibiscus lasiocarpos). No matter where you live, if your plot of land is fully shaded, blue sage (Salvia azurea) won’t bloom there, no matter what you do to it or how badly you want to attract hummingbirds. If you have heavy wet soil, beard tongue (Penstemon digitalis) won’t survive, so don’t waste your money. And if you have a spot that’s always wet, a heat-loving, drought-tolerant common yarrow (Achillea millefolium) won’t thrive there.
But keep the faith! The next chapters of this book give you all the information you need to make the right choice for the right location in the right conditions. Even if your yard is tiny or contains only a few pots arranged on a patio, you’ll find natives that work in your situation.
With the nitty-gritty work of inventory and analysis behind you, you have the background information necessary to plan the birdscape of your dreams. I’m betting that right now, though, you have a whirlwind of ideas in your head. You may feel confused, even overwhelmed, wondering where and how to start. Begin by envisioning your ideal birdscape. Here’s how.
You know which of your current landscape assets you want to keep and which liabilities you want to eliminate or at least reduce, so roll out that yard map and think about your options. What do you envision for your birdscape? Something casual or formal? Dense shrubs beside the garage? A flower bed along the walk? Vines over the patio? A water feature in the back? What do you want to see when you look out the kitchen window? What do you want passersby to see from the curb?
Just to be clear, it’s not our purpose here to teach landscape design; we’ll leave that to the professionals. Do know, however, that a number of online sites provide sound advice for landscaping—the principles, the rules, and the absolute laws. The photos alone will inspire your creativity, triggering great ideas for landscaping, and we’re here to translate the ideas into native.
Your yard and garden options are virtually limitless—well, maybe limited by your energy, time, and pocketbook—and way more options exist than we can even suggest. Creativity, kicked into full gear, will turn your efforts into spectacular rewards. Think about some of these:
If you have a super-sized yard, maybe even acreage, a prairie garden may be for you. Depending on its proximity to your house or to your neighbors’ abodes, the garden may incorporate paths, some boulders, or even statuary. Or you may go for a mini-imitation of the vast plains with only the heights of the plants to offer visual interest.
Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) makes a showy front for a prairie garden.
Within the confines of a mid-sized yard, however, you can still create a prairie corner, clustering plants like tall coreopsis (Coreopsis tripteris) or cutleaf coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata) in the back and stepping down to blue giant hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) mixed with purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) in the middle, edged by butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) in the front. Tuck in some prairie dropseed grass clumps (Sporobolus heterolepis) for texture.
If you live in the woods, you already know that very few songbird species spend full time in the forest. Even woodpeckers forage away from dense trees, and the high-canopy migrants that nest in forests still forage for bugs across a wide variety of habitats. In fact, most forest-dwelling song-birds forage and nest along woodland edges. If your plot of land is dense with trees, you likely need no further shelter for birds and are hoping, instead, to add low understory, perhaps some color, and visual interest close to your house, or maybe add foundation plantings that attract birds within window view.
Here’s an idea: Consider a part-shade-part-sun spot that, over the course of the day, offers enough sun to promote blossoms. Add a foundation planting of shrubs, like holly shrubs, possibly inkberry (Ilex glabra) or winterberry (Ilex verticillata), both of which can be pruned if you prefer. Then tuck in some ostrich ferns (Matteuccia struthiopteris) to soften the edges, and add color with patches of bird-friendly red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) and one of the Agastache species, accented with sweet-scented joe-pye weed (Eupatorium purpureum). For more visual interest and to add an invitation for a walk in the woods, add an upright garden feature, like a trellis, arbor, or arch, described in the section Vertical Garden, beginning on page 65 below.
Pebbles, beach rock, river rock, even boulders and slabs from I-can-carry size to need-a-crane size—everything is an option to add interest, depth, height, or surprise to a yard. While there’s nothing inherent about rock that attracts birds to the yard, under every rock is almost always something edible, including, for birds, numerous arthropods. And birds have a way of finding bugs, eggs, and larvae around the edges of rocks. I’ve watched Carolina Wrens glean, over the course of numerous consecutive days, around the edge of a dry-stacked stonewall, obviously rewarded by finding enough morsels to make the effort worthwhile—and repeatable.
Nothing is more natural among rocks—especially rocks in partial shade—than eastern red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis). It self-seeds among the cracks and crannies and puts on a month-long show every spring.
Since eastern red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) grows naturally among shaded rocky terrain, it’s a perfect fit for at-home partial-shade rock gardens.
If yours is a super-sized yard, a rock garden can break it up into hidden gems. Stones can set off a berm, help retain a steep slope, form a dry streambed, mark the boundary of a garden, add a focal point to a mass planting—or anything else inspired by your creativity. If yours is a mid-sized yard, a rock garden can become the central feature, perhaps at the front entrance, along the front curb, or in a back corner enhancing a water feature. If yours is a tiny yard or a pots-and-patio garden, a single large stone may set off a native flower bed or accent a clump of mini trees, like ‘Gray Owl’ juniper (Juniperus virginiana) or ‘Fastigiata’ hemlock (Tsuga canadensis). Or maybe a trio of boulders forms a contrast among grass clumps, like switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans), or bottlebrush grass (Elymus hystrix).
The range of natives that fits well in rock gardens is almost limitless, unless, of course, soil or moisture conditions put restrictions on the effort.
Given the delightful array of native shrubs, both deciduous and evergreen, and given the height variations available among native small trees and their cultivars, and given the almost limitless array of height and color of native perennials, a cottage garden likely offers more possibilities for plantings than does any other approach. Even if the garden is limited to curbside between sidewalk and property fence or to some abbreviated portion of the front yard, the landscaping options can make quite a statement—and attract birds during all four seasons.
Wild blue indigo (Baptisia australis) and its white species (B. alba) make beautiful bush-like perennials for cottage gardens—or for almost anywhere else!
Visualize four or five lavender-blooming native American wisterias (Wisteria frutescens) climbing a two-dimensional trellis near the cottage wall with a clump of wax myrtles (Myrica cerifera) to the side and fronted by mapleleaf viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium). Add to them an array of blue, yellow, pink, and orange blossoms. Visualize the yellow blossoms and striking foliage of a cluster of tall coreopsis (Coreopsis tripteris) in the center, surrounded by masses of purple-to-lavender New England asters (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae), orange coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida), yellow sweet coneflower (Rudbeckia subtomentosa), and purple giant hyssop (Agastache scrophulariifolia). Maybe several wild white indigos (Baptisia alba) accent a simple fountain, and tucked along the stone path to the front door are washes of color from scarlet monarda (Monarda didyma), white-blooming foxglove beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis), and great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica). How I wish I had a cottage!
Any yard or garden can benefit from a trellis, arch, or even a more substantial arbor or pergola. Tiny yards and pots-and-patio gardens can double or even triple the surface habitat by adding a vertical garden. Verticals add visual interest to mid-sized and super-sized yards, and add height to cottage and rock gardens. They frame entryways, mark paths and sidewalks, and suggest a friendly invitation to wander through. Of course, bird habitat increases exponentially with the increased surface habitat that the vertical gardens and vertical features provide.
In urban areas or suburban areas where houses sit closely together, the space between can become a charming vertical garden with a “skinny” tree like a ‘Little Volunteer’ tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), accompanied by two or three New Jersey teas (Ceanothus americanus) or common ninebarks (Physocarpus opulifolius), and underplanted with ferns like Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) or ostrich ferns (Matteuccia struthiopteris). Voila! You’ve turned an otherwise dead space into a green canopy of shelter for birds and improved the oxygen levels in the neighborhood.
To fill in and add texture, consider ostrich ferns (Matteuccia struthiopteris), a native that will thrive even in sun, although they do suffer in full sun if combined with high temperatures.
Verticals are typically synonymous with vines, and we recommend a good selection of native vines in a later chapter. But verticals can come in other forms as well. Vertical pocket gardens, made with a series of containers attached to the side of a building, wall, fence, or self-purposed structure, permit plants to grow either upward or draping. The typical small size of the pockets, however, severely restricts plant choices. Assuming the pockets you’ve chosen are adequate, consider tickseed coreopsis (Coreopsis palmata), bushy aster (Symphyotrichum dumosus), black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), or blue sage (Salvia azurea)—all producing blossoms that attract pollinators and seeds that attract birds. Maybe a series of containers, each filled with Virginia strawberry (Fragaria virginiana), would turn the trick for you—especially if you can resist the sweet wild strawberries long enough for the berry-loving birds to find them!
The overall atmosphere of your native garden is readily accomplished with features like paths (stone, wood chip, boardwalk, tinted concrete, or whatever materials you prefer); fences (picket, split rail, stone, or wrought iron); statuary (large or small, formal or whimsical, featured or tucked under foliage as a hidden gem); benches (modern chic, rustic stone, formal white, natural plank, cushioned or not); pots (metal, plastic, ceramic, wood, clay, or repurposed items like buckets, sprinkling cans, teapots, or antique containers or other artifacts); and water features (ponds small to large, bubbling rocks, fountains simple to elegant, birdbaths, streams, and waterfalls). Natives planted in formal symmetry may suit your fancy. Most native gardens I’ve enjoyed, however, seem to stay in keeping with their heritage: a natural look with a variety of heights, color washes, and textures. But it’s your yard, your garden, your image. Do what you love best—just do it with natives!
We’ve mentioned a variety of possible approaches to planting natives in tiny spaces: using tall, skinny trees and shrubs (listed separately in the following chapters); going vertical with trellises and arbors; and terracing layers of pots both large and small. Other options include window boxes, raised planter boxes, and stair-step pots.
Yards and gardens are highly personal. Maybe these few ideas will trigger a vision of your own yard and garden preferences and how they might come to fruition. Dream the dream. Plan to make your personal space your own, and invite the birds to join you.
Assuming you now have a vision of what you’d like your birdscape to look like, you’re ready to get organized. Yard map in hand, let’s make those put-it-on-paper decisions and organize your plan forward. Decide about the following three key questions:
1. Which yard spaces are for people? Think about seating areas, pathways, recreational uses. Check actual dimensions. Pace off the spaces in your yard, take measurements, and transfer the space to your yard map. The last thing you want to do is add plants and then find them in the way of your personal space. Sketch those personal spaces onto your map.
2. Given the space remaining, where can you add vegetation? Can you increase the density in already-planted areas? Can you expand or add to already-planted areas? How much lawn are you willing to give up? Mark the areas where you can accommodate new plants—singles, small clusters, or groves.
3. Are there unique needs that you hope to meet? Do you need a living privacy fence? Will a strategically placed shrub or tree help block a view or hide an eyesore? Do you want a patio border or a screen beneath an elevated deck? Add such notations to a sticky note and post it on your map as a reminder.
The best deciduous tree for supporting bugs for birds is oak, this one in bloom attracting a foraging Tufted Titmouse.
Once you have identified space for new plants, think about what kinds of plants can go where—trees, shrubs, vines, and perennials. Because of their size, let’s start with trees. Don’t be concerned yet about what kind of trees. Think only about where you have space for and prefer to locate a tree, or trees. So:
Where can you add a tree?
How large a tree can the space accommodate?
Can you add more than one tree?
How many can you add?
Are there size limits on additional trees?
What birdscaping assets should trees add to your yard—missing food, shelter, nesting?
Consider: Trees anchor landscapes. Their height lets them serve as a backdrop for everything else. They draw the eye and establish sight lines for your property.
Consider: Where do you want the anchor? Several trees alongside or planted diagonally toward the house enhance a curbside view. Trees nearer the curb set up a backdrop for the view from inside your home, perhaps adding a note of privacy. Generally avoid the middle-of-the-front-yard tree, as that positioning limits what else you can do aesthetically with your landscaping.
Consider: Not every tree is a towering giant. Smaller trees can add to the biodiversity without going out of bounds. Later, we’ll offer suggestions for trees of many sizes. So if space allows for only one maxi tree, perhaps plan for two or three or more mid-sized or even mini trees. Even dwarf trees in a rock garden add to the biodiversity.
Consider: How will the tree(s) look from your windows? Since you’re planting to host birds, you’ll want to be able to see those birds from the comfort of your indoor space, especially the space from which you’ll most likely enjoy sitting and watching.
Consider: What limits do you have on tree placement? Some rules apply:
Don’t plant trees under utility lines or where their mature limbs will reach into utility lines.
Don’t plant trees so close to a building that mature tree limbs overarch the structure, perhaps damaging the roof.
Don’t plant trees directly on property lines, thus intruding into your neighbor’s space and giving rise to potential arguments over pruning.
Revise your yard-map plan accordingly, marking the location for a tree or for multiple trees. Make a note about any necessary size limits.
Next, consider how many shrubs you can add to your available space:
Where can you add some shrubs, preferably at least four?
Can you add more than four?
Are there size limits on any of the shrubs—either height or spread?
How much space can you devote to additional shrubs?
What birdscaping assets do you hope to add with shrubs—food, shelter, nesting?
While trees provide the landscape anchor, shrubs and tall understory plants flesh it out. They’re the background fillers. Or in a pots-and-patio garden or mini yard, shrubs, rather than trees, may be your anchors. Later, we’ll offer suggestions for shrubs that are actually dwarf cultivars of native trees. They carry some of the same benefits for birds as do their larger standards. You’ll be feeding birds nearly as effectively as your friends with super-sized yards—you’ll just do it on a smaller scale. Think of it this way: If you could somehow arrange the surface of a shrub on flat ground, it would take up considerable space. The more shrubs, the more space. All of that space offers habitat—and feeding opportunities for birds. See what I mean?
Among the many birds that love flowering dogwood berries (Cornus florida), this male Northern Cardinal visits the tree daily for its lipid-rich fruits. Flowering dogwood stays small enough to grace a mini yard.
Given shrubs’ relatively small size, and given the many kinds of shrubs available, they can serve a surprising number of purposes in your yard and landscape. Here are a few ideas that may trigger yet more ideas for ways in which shrubs can add pizzazz to the yard while drawing birds into your habitat:
Shrubs in corners: Corners are usually abundant across landscaping, and shrubs can soften both inside and outside corners and enhance architectural design. House footprints often have one or more inside corners. Or where sidewalk meets driveway, where sidewalk meets house, where driveway meets house, where sidewalk meets street, or where patio joins house. Or property-border corners, of which most of us have at least four. You get the idea. Shrubs tend to fit nicely into these niches.
Shrubs for privacy: Evergreen or semiever-green shrubs especially work well strategically placed along property lines to establish privacy, such as aligned with windows or doors that give passersby or neighbors a direct eye’s view into your personal space. Shrubs around the pool or patio can also serve to block outsiders’ views.
Shrubs for hedges: Depending on their height, hedges can act as low living fences or tall privacy screens. Most native shrubs can be pruned, but consider the shrubs’ typical growth patterns if pruning is your intent.
Shrubs for borders: To edge an area within the yard, to accent an architectural feature, or to border a sidewalk, driveway, or property line, shrubs—pruned or not—add to the aesthetics of the landscape.
Shrubs in cottage gardens: Since most cottage gardens would be monotonous with nothing more than same-height perennials, shrubs add the texture, bulk, and height. Whether the cottage-style garden fronts the house, establishes curb appeal, marks the property boundary, hugs the side yard, or edges the backyard, shrubs accent the space. Accents may serve as garden bookends, as a central attention-getter, as asymmetrical focal points, as dense background, or, given a mini-sized shrub, as a garden’s front border.
Shrubs as formal symmetry: Although most native shrubs listed here don’t take kindly to meticulously pruned box or meatball shapes, they can take on a formality in their natural shape, serving as borders along sidewalks, around patches of perennials, or along boundaries.
Shrubs as foundation gardens: Clusters of shrubs arrayed along house foundations not only cover any unattractive bare foundation structure, but also soften the lines where house meets ground. Shrubs can accent doorways, emphasize window structures, parallel upright features like outside chimney structures, or surround porches or patios. In such cases, the shrubs themselves and by themselves become the garden, rather than accenting a garden of perennials.
Shrubs for concealment: Sometimes an annoying but permanent yard feature needs a cover-up. Trash bins, a neighbor’s unsightly shed, or a utility structure may need to disappear from your dining-room view. Shrubs to the rescue!
Shrubs as feature specimens: Many native shrubs stand alone for their lovely flowers against striking foliage followed by abundant berries. Planting in clusters dramatizes their features, adding interest to the yard.
Shrubs for interest: Shrubs often serve to add height to a series of perennial plantings or to vary the topography of an otherwise flat surface.
Okay, we’ve suggested 10 categorical uses for shrubs in your landscape, and most likely these suggestions triggered additional ideas for your specific situation. Consider these many options for shrub purpose and placement. It’s unlikely birds will care where you plant those berry-producing shrubs or tuck in those sheltering nest sites, so let the shrubs serve you as well as the birds. Mark your yard map now to identify places where you want to plant shrubs—preferably four of them, one for each season.
A vine is actually a unique shrub, a multi-stemmed woody plant that has really, really, really long stems. A vine adds a note of height to virtually any yard, so consider:
Do you have space suitable for a vine’s support structure?
Do you have space for more than one such structure, perhaps of a different shape or size?
What birdscaping assets should the vine(s) add to your yard—food, shelter, nesting?
Across my yard, I’ve trained vines to climb fences, wind around free-standing trellises and posts, drape across a pergola, or hang on decaying tree snags. They’re all bird magnets!
Vines also add drama to the smallest spaces, including pots-and-patio gardens, adding significant bird-friendly habitat to limited space and adding vertical pizzazz to otherwise flap-jack flat. One of my friends often speaks about the hummingbirds that visit his trumpet vine (Campsis radicans), twining on a trellis alongside his tiny patio—in downtown Atlanta. His experience proves once again that vines offer a great means for expanding surface habitat, including especially nectar, nesting, and shelter. Of course, adding height to any space dramatically increases habitat square footage.
The orange-blossomed crossvine (Bignonia capreolata), twining up its trellis, makes a perfect nest site for a variety of songbirds, including a Northern Cardinal with three eggs in her nest. Note in the background the trellis’s sturdy 4-inch-square support post.
Still, some considerations are in order:
Consider: On what structure will the vine twine its way up? Planting a vine requires some sort of sturdy, long-lasting support. When planting time comes, we’ll talk about how to choose a support.
Consider: What size structure will your space allow? While vines can be regularly and readily pruned to keep them small, the idea of a bird-friendly vine is one that is dense and bushy and sports abundant vegetation.
Consider: Where in your landscape does a vine best fit? A vine can become a landscape feature, perhaps overarching a sidewalk, as part of your curb appeal, at a doorway, or over a pergola, or even be a focal point in the yard or garden, perhaps adjoining a patio, bookending a deck, climbing across a balcony rail, or framing a water feature.
Consider: Sometimes vines serve well as ground covers, climbing over rocks or perhaps covering an eyesore.
On your yard map, sketch in the footprint of a vine and its support structure.
To add color and provide birds with seeds and nectar, perennials fill the bill. They work well tucked in among other kinds of vegetation or in stand-alone beds, perhaps as yard features, borders, or accents. Consult your yard map to answer the following:
How much space do you want to fill with perennials?
Do you have space for washes of plants rather than sets of twos and threes?
Will you add perennials in pots?
Will you have space for clumps of ornamental perennial grass?
What birdscaping assets do you hope to add using perennials—seed, nectar, shelter?
On your map, designate where you plan to add perennials.
Water. It’s that fourth mandatory element of good habitat, the elements that also include food, shelter, and places to raise young. Just as you and I don’t sit down to a meal without something to drink, so birds need something to drink to accompany the buffet you’ll be offering in your yard’s ultimate bird feeder. If you live on a water-front lot, or your neighbor has a lake or pond, or a stream meanders through your neighborhood, or some other natural water source exists nearby, you’re home free. You have a great asset. Thus, providing water in your own space is not essential.
Amid deep snow, six Mourning Doves enjoy a drink at a heated bubbling rock, a benefit that saves birds significant energy during trying times.
On the other hand, if there is no nearby natural water source—or if you’d just like to provide water for the enjoyment of luring birds in to drink and bathe—now’s the time to plan.
Whether you choose to mount your birdbath on a pedestal, hang it from a hook, or situate it on the ground, consider the birds’ safety as they drink and bathe. As a general rule of thumb, birds should find safe shelter no more than 20 feet from a bath. I’ve noticed that when given a choice, birds will alight on a closer shelter. However, shrubs too close, grass clumps too tall, or perennial clusters too dense can all give predators a place to hide and make a sneak attack on an unsuspecting bird at the bath. So here are suggestions:
Place a birdbath or other water feature where you can enjoy watching from your favorite window. Not only does that placement enhance your pleasure, but you’ll also tune in to potential problems: soiled water, low water, overarching vegetation, or any other dangers birds might face while enjoying a sip and a splash.
Place a birdbath near vegetation, allowing bathing birds to quickly and readily flee danger and dash to a safe place to preen.
Remove dense, adjoining ground-level vegetation that might hide marauding predators.
While it’s relatively simple to situate a small birdbath amid the landscape, if you’re thinking something bigger—a water feature complete with a recirculating pump or a four-season bubbling rock, for instance—add the dimensional footprint sketch of that feature to your yard map. By locating it now, you’ll know to plan around the water feature if you choose to landscape before you have the time, money, or energy to actually install it.
In Chapter 8 we’ll provide more details about recommended water features and suggest plants suitable for landscaping both waterfronts and water features.
Wow! Your plan is complete. Now all you have to do is plant, right?
Well, in part. But what exactly do you plant? Even dedicated folks, having decided to “go native,” often throw up their hands in dismay at the overwhelming number of native-plant choices. Every source, either in print or online, lists a vast array of native plants, all reportedly fine choices, all touted as “bird magnets”—and mostly only perennials. But just what do these sources mean by “bird magnet”? Will any “bird magnet” draw birds in during four seasons? Will the magnet serve up seeds? Nectar? Berries? Does it host bugs? Provide winter shelter? Nest sites? Amid all the confusion, how does a responsible landowner pick from the array so that his or her yard offers the best possible balance of bird habitat—from berries to bugs, from nectar to nesting, from shelter to seeds, from spring through summer into fall and winter?
Anything—tree, shrub, perennial, or vine—that blooms and attracts bees will likely attract Summer Tanagers in search of their favorite food. This female, bee in beak, smashed the stinger before swallowing her prize.
Every successful birdscape begins with a plan. You have that. But two key words direct the implementation of the plan: baby steps. So while you now have an inventory and analysis of your yard as well as a plan to fill in what’s missing, you’ll do well to begin by choosing only one portion of your yard to initiate your native-plant effort. If, for instance, you fear making mistakes that will be detrimental to your home’s curb appeal, start with the back or side yard. Everyone learns by doing. Planting in only one area helps you focus on a single set of soil and light conditions. The south side, for instance, unless already shaded by vegetation or structures, will get direct sun and likely exhibit arid conditions. What you plant in full sun on the south side of your house will be different, for instance, from what you plant in full shade on the north side. Don’t make life complicated; begin with a single set of conditions, tackling only one part at a time.
Comfort yourself with this thought: Yards and gardens are almost always works in progress. We add and subtract. We substitute with new ideas and improved plans. Just because you put in a set of native plantings on one side of your house doesn’t mean it’s a permanent set and forever unchangeable. I have a friend who always jokes about adding any new plant to her yard. She says, “Well, it doesn’t really matter where I plant it because I’ll move it again anyway.” It’s okay to make changes if your first effort isn’t your best. We’ve all done it. Trust me on that one.
Comfort yourself too with this thought: The same individual plants need not serve you forever. Think of plants as crops: Some of them grow and mature and then fade. Some plants, like people, simply have a shorter life than others. Some perennials may lose their luster after four or five years. Some shrubs may max out in 20 years, their attractiveness spent. It’s okay to replace the crop, even if you replant with the same species, one showing more vigor and vibrancy in its youth.
With that in mind, you’re ready to get going with this simple Five-Step Plan. It lets you add an array of natives, a few at a time, in appropriate proportions, and helps you choose what’s right where you live. Most of all, the plan helps you get the birdscape done, from start to finish. Here’s our plan for implementing your plan—and we devote a full chapter to completing each step.
Step 1: Choose a tree. Or two. Or three. We’ll tell you which ones are best. And why.
Step 2: Choose a shrub (including, perhaps, a vine) for each season. We’ll show you how to choose, season by season.
Step 3: Choose perennials (including, perhaps, ornamental grasses and ferns)—three each of six flowering species. We’ll guide you through the maze of options.
Step 4: Add water. We’ll recommend successful water features as well as native plants that like wet feet, growing along or in the water.
Step 5: Put the plan in action. We’ll smooth the way to getting the deed done, from buying to planting to adding finishing touches.
With your yard map in hand, your analysis complete, you’re ready to go. Step 1 begins now.