Gardening for the Birds (and Bees, and…)

by Joanie Quinn

When I first moved into my house ten years ago it, and all the houses around it, suffered from the same landscaping that was in fashion 50 years ago when the house was built.

Lawn — kept weed-free with regular applications of herbicides, and green with regular applications of NPK fertilizer; a few elms, two blue spruce, and a juniper at each corner of the house.

I put up a bird feeder and the only visitors were the ubiquitous and nonnative house sparrows and house finches — the same birds that were scratching out a living in the parking lot of the nearby supermarket.

I didn't even see many robins that first spring — the ground was so compacted and sterile that worms were few and far between.

No butterflies, no bees — there was nothing to attract them. I suppose a few might have checked out the plastic flowers in my next door neighbor's yard and then blacklisted the whole neighborhood.

I got lots of advice from my neighbors that first year about what I needed to do to keep the lawn in shape — power raking, aerating, fertilizing, spraying the dandelions, and of course, mowing and trimming.

You could easily spend a whole weekend manicuring the lawn. Not to mention the vast amount of water needed to keep the jolly green monster going in the heat of the summer. This might have been the original owner's idea of paradise but it sure wasn't mine.

My next door neighbor was outraged when, the following spring, I showed up in the front yard wielding a shovel instead of a power rake.

Bit by bit I took out the lawn and replaced it, first with veggie beds, and later with perennial herbs, native plants and trees, and fruiting shrubs.

I mulched heavily after digging out sections of grass, constructed some rock piles and a couple brush piles. I put out a shallow water dish on a big stump.

Best of all, many of my neighbors began xeriscaping and putting in native plants. These tiny native patches are now home to a roadrunner or two.

I've had grosbeaks, scrub and eastern blue jays, nuthatches, rufous and black-chinned hummingbirds, flickers, phoebes, kestrels, brown creepers, kinglets, flycatchers, juncoes, redheaded woodpeckers (on red-hot pokers), downy woodpeckers, doves. Worms are turning the earth, butterflies and bees, ladybugs and lacewings, praying mantis and spiders are populating the yard. It is becoming a living place.

This year, for a period of two days, I was rewarded with a congregation of over 100 robins who perched in the big elm in the back and took turns drinking from the water dish and gobbling pyracantha berries.

Creating Sanctuaries

The yard around your house can never replace the habitat lost as the human population gobbles up more and more of the land that wild creatures used to call home.

It is possible, however, to create sanctuaries for some of the smaller species (especially birds and insects) — sanctuaries that will be sustainable in this climate and will give you great satisfaction.

There are many points to consider in attracting birds (and other wildlife) to your yard.

1) Water.

In our climate this is the biggie. When you think about attracting birds and other creatures your thoughts naturally turn to food, but water is by far a bigger draw.

The quickest solution is a birdbath type dish on a stump or hanging from a tree or pole. It is important to clean these regularly with a scrub brush and white vinegar — and put in fresh water daily.

Birds are looking for water in the winter too, so toss out the ice in cold mornings.

I fill my birdbath with hot water every morning, which usually doesn't freeze over before the sun arrives to keep the water clear of ice.

If you want to go a step further, a pond is a wonderful asset.

Freeform ponds can be constructed simply by digging a hole and lining it with a flexible pond liner. Ponds of this sort do not have to have pumps and filters, but can be planted with pond plants that will keep the water fresh.

Fish should be added to take care of mosquito larvae. Solar-powered units can be placed in a pond to create a spray of water that birds find especially attractive.

(For butterflies and other insects, a very shallow dish on the ground, filled with gravel and pebbles, with water up to the surface of the pebbles, will provide accessible water.)

2) Food.

Trees, shrubs, grasses and flowers can all provide food for birds. Sunflowers are an obvious crop.

Yellow currants, pyracantha, Oregon grape (planted in my yard by birds), desert willow, scarlet sage, three-leaf sumac, cotoneaster, crabapples, cherries (if you are willing to share), juniper, buffalo-berry, Virginia creeper and nut trees are all favorite bird crops — but don't forget that lots of birds are insect-eaters. Herbs and other flowering plants, are an important part of the mix.

The umbilliferae (dill, parsley, Queen Anne's lace, carrots, etc.) are important plants to feed butterfly caterpillars.

Butterfly favorites include the obvious "butterfly bush," which attracts swallowtails, commas, tortoiseshells, monarchs, painted ladies and red admirals.

Rabbitbush attracts painted ladies and orange sulfurs. Bee Balm is a great perennial for butterflies and bees.

3) Shelter.

Trees, shrubs, and tall grasses can all provide shelter from predators and bad weather. Most birds seem to be especially fond of junipers — hundreds can disappear into a single tree.

Pyracantha can also provide good cover and ivy growing up an old tree trunk or pole is a great hideaway. When you are planting your food crops or positioning your food stations make sure cover is nearby but farther than a good cat spring away (about 10 feet).

4) Diversity.

If you want diversity, you have to provide diversity. A wide variety of native grasses, shrubs and trees will be the best draw for a wide variety of wildlife.

Provide plantings that cover the range from short to tall.

The best bird habitat will include some from each of the following seven types of plants: Conifers (cover, shelter, nesting, sap, fruit, seeds); Grasses and legumes (cover, nesting material, seeds); Nectar plants; Summer-fruiting plants (cherry, chokecherry, honeysuckle, grape, plum); fall fruiting plants (cotoneasters, buffaloberry); Winter-fruiting plants (retain fruits into the winter — pyracantha, juniper crabapple, Virginia creeper); Nut trees (pecans, walnuts, pinon).

5) Seasons.

Don't just consider what your garden will provide at the height of its glory in the summer. Are there evergreens for winter shelter; shrubs and grasses that can provide winter food? An unfrozen source of water?

6) Placement.

Are your plantings arranged to provide wind breaks? Are there places for early morning sunning and late afternoon shade? Is there cover available throughout the yard?

7) Protection.

We've already talked about shelter and cats. Strings hung vertically on the outside of windows at 4" intervals can keep birds from flying into the glass. Herbicides and pesticides are deadly (this includes spraying for annoying household insects like roaches).

Also be aware that "natural" pesticides such as pyrethrins are just as deadly as the synthetic ones to bees, ladybugs and butterflies.

8) Build your garden from bottom to top.

The first thing to consider in any successful system is the foundation. Creating and nourishing life and diversity starts with a healthy and alive soil. Use compost and mulches to build your soil and nourish your garden.

9) Leave some dirt.

No gardener wants large expanses of soil left uncovered to erode and shrivel, but… many birds and other critters need a small patch of dirt to take a dust bath to control mites and other pests.

Birds also need a source of grit to grind their food. Leave a few patches of bare ground.

10) Experiment.

When creating your garden, do some planning and thinking and talk to master gardeners, neighbors, local nurseries, etc., but leave some room to experiment and change.

Watch what is happening in your habitat. Watch the birds and the other wildlife and see what they are enjoying and what they are ignoring.

See what plants will grow in the different areas. There will be some surprises. Last year I noticed house finches swarming the small fruits that followed the blossoms on my rosemary.

They loved it! Rosemary also provides very early blossoms for the bees. There is no cookie cutter master plan for gardening for wildlife.

Listen to what your garden is telling you and use your experience to guide your next steps.