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Share your reflections on what you enjoy about your current outdoor space, and what you want to change. You can also offer your bird sightings, or your hopes for different birds you might see when you start gardening for birds.You must be enrolled in the course to reply to this topic.
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I have a tiny balcony, so it is hard to garden for birds. I do have a few plants that are mainly enjoyed by hummingbirds when the plants are in bloom, but I dream of having a bigger space to plant more for all birds and wildlife to enjoy. I also dream of having a garden space that doesn't have a roof as some species seem to be nervous about roves. However, I do have a view of a protected natural space filled with native plants and trees that allows me to see a wider variety of birds. This natural space has been a great inspiration for my future garden ideas as I watch birds enjoy their favorite plants.
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I currently have over ten very mature trees around my property, including Birch and Oaks. However, because of this there is little sunlight in the backyard, so I'm working to turn an area next to the house in the front yard into a garden full of perennials, vines, and smaller shrubs to support not only birds but also pollinators. I have several bird feeders right now that bring in Northern Cardinals, Black-capped Chickadees, White and Red-breasted Nuthatch, Woodpeckers, and both Chipping and White-throated Sparrows. Eventually I'm wanting to completely eliminate my bird feeders and instead provide them with "real" food in the form of native plants and insects. I just created a large brush pile too, so hopefully that will provide some habitat for various species.
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I recently was able to purchase the home as I was renting and am excited to be able to invest time, money, and energy into developing out door spaces that welcome birds and a variety of insect pollinators. I'm fortunate to live in an area where there are woods on the edge of my property, but also have the challenge of a a large deer population. I also hope to reduce, if not eventually fully eliminate areas that need regular mowing. I have two bird feeders on my property that attract an array of species typical to Upstate NY including cardinals, American gold finch, chickadees, several species of woodpeckers, rose breasted grosbeaks, and white throated sparrows, to name a few.
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We used to have a woods behind us that provided everything for our birds. We merely supplemented with our feeders. Now all bulldozed in preparation for 111 houses to be built. Birds were in shock but do come by form other nearby woods now.
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my current garden -
I live in a rural, heavily wooded area. There was no lawn to speak of and over-grown bushes and weeds up to the door. The first thing I did was to mow it all down and create a lawn and a new perennial garden. It was what I was used to, growing up in suburbia, and felt like the right thing to do. But ever since doing that, I have regretted it. While I love my garden and it gives me lots of joy, I wish I had retained some of the wildness here on my wooded lot. So now my mission is to reclaim a portion of my lot to create a woodland garden with native plants. I’m very excited about this…it’ll be a first for me in my 40+ years of gardening.
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Hi Jenn! That sounds like a great goal and I hope you have fun making it a reality. I hadn't thought about how the gardens we grow up seeing as kids can have an effect on the gardens we create as adults. This is a concept I will keep in mind as I take the class and I plan my own garden based on what is available in my yard. Thanks!
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We live in a subdivision of 20 acre parcels of shrub steppe in central Washington. Most of the property is bunch grass, sage, rabbit brush, arrow-leaf Balsom root, yarrow, lupine. and greasewood. We mostly notice raptors but other seasonal birds, too. Right now the meadowlarks are singing up a storm! And juncos hang out in the winter. Timothy Hay and alfalfa farms are nearby. I enjoy the wildness of our landscape, the sunrises and sunsets, the seasonal changes and most of the cool wildlife (excluding the rattlers). Our outdoor space brings a sense of peace and calm. I saw 18 deer this evening as I walked my dog; that is both a blessing and a challenge. They are beautiful but chew up what I plant in a heartbeat. A peach tree and cherry tree I planted last fall didn't last a night. What I'd like to change is to integrate new and different native plants to provide support for birds around the year. And, I'd like to incorporate plants that deter the deer, leave a legacy of stewardship of this property and bring delight to the neighborhood with color and beauty. It is dry here and the soil is very compacted and I have a challenge with invasive prostate knotweed, dalmatian toadflax, chamomile and thistle. So, choosing the right plants is important.
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We are lucky to have some property in Western PA with a number of native plants growing already. 30 acres partially overgrown pasture, some wetlands and a good bit of woods. This picture is part of the "pasture". We get a lot (too many) deer, some common and some unusual small mammals, a good number of birds including a flock of turkey, geese, catbirds and we always get nests of Robins, carolina wrens, chickadees, mourning doves and others. While I would consider that I have always loved nature and bird watching, until my daughter planted a Monarda outside our Sunroom which attracted hummingbirds I was only marginally aware of specific plants being important for native insects - and even more started learning that numerous plants I thought I was doing something good with are actually invasive. I want to learn to identify invasive plants better and work towards removing them from our property and minimizing the area we keep mowed to what we need to do the outdoor activities we enjoy. I am sad I did not realize some of this 25 years ago as I could be a lot further along, but I will start where I am and try not to be overwhelmed.
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here is a panoramic picture. the yard extends similarly to the left of the picture for an acre. The green is astroturf
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We have a fairly open 3 acres with some native pine trees, quaking aspen, cottonwood and some deciduous maple north of Colorado Springs Colorado, at 7400 feet. There are pine cones and seeds, but we have very few bushes, flowering plants. We are newly landscaping an area that was domesticated 13 years ago. We have lots of finches, flickers, mountain bluebirds, juncos, red-winged blackbirds, pigeons, collared doves, and magpies. In the summer we get a few hummingbirds, meadowlarks, hawks and an occasional eagle. I have 5 berms (mounds of dirt covered with rocks or groundcover) that will protect us from road construction in future years. Trees also ring the house at a distance. One berm is ready for a small water feature and has feeders. It needs a small tree and some bushes and ground cover. It is about 30 feet from a small patio and grass area; and about 60 feet from a second story deck. One berm has two small native bushes. The others have no plants as yet. We want to put in a raised bed of annuals and herbs and butterfly type bushes but I have no idea what grows well here or what would look good together and fill in over a few years. Our grasses are all native (no sparse in some places - no green lawns). We have 40 or so antelope that venture through daily or every other day. They interact with the distant pines but tend to stay away from the house area. We have a Sheltie who marks his territory via an electric/invisible type fence.
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We are in the northeast, 6b growing zone. We have 1/3 acre mostly grass, weeds and mud with mature trees and shrubs. Gray catbirds are seasonal in the forsythias. I started a hummingbird garden a couple years ago that has attracted hummimgbirds and butterflies. We grow hop vines to brew beer, and raised beds for vegetables as well as planters for annuals, tomatoes, herbs. We get a variety of common backyard birds, hawks, as well as migrating baltimore oriole and rose breasted grosbeak. Would like to make the overall landscaping more aesthetic with native plants to attract more birds and butterflies. I do contend with chipmunks, mice,deer and groundhogs. And have so far been able to keep the invasive Spotted Lanternflies to a minimum. Also concerned for puppy safe plants. Looking to learn where to start so I can have color and blooms for 3 seasons with native plants.
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There are a couple elements of my yard that I really enjoy; the several older trees that provide a lot of shade in the summer, and the locations of the flower beds that allow me to see the flowering plants from the house. I want to change the variety of trees on my land. All the ash and elm trees in my area have been wiped out by insects or disease. As I replace the trees, I’ll use a more diverse group of native trees. There are also several invasive flowers that I want to replace with natives. In the last 2 years I’ve taken pictures of 35 different birds at my house. Now it’s far between new sightings. Since I now know which birds are common, at least it is easy to spot something different. There are still a few birds from our area Christmas Bird Count Common Checklist that could visit my house. That’s one reason I signed up for Project Feeder Watch, it makes take time and look at the birds.
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I live in the Treasure Valley area of Idaho, Nampa specifically. We downsized from two acres with a TON of natural bird habitat in California to a new home that has, well a lawn and a sloped area behind the lawn up to the back fense. Let the games begin. My feeding stations are attracting a good amount of birds but there is no habitat for them to "hang" out so I feed them and they hang out in the established yards behind me.
I need evergreens along the back fence to hide the behind neighbors, some terracing perhaps and plants and shrubs suitable for a small hillside.
I am pretty much starting from scratch. In winter our lawns go dormant. Sorry for the messy picture, we just had a wind storm and my dogs agility equipment and bird feeding items went on a walk about.
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I have a few different places that I would like to make more bird friendly. Our home in Chicago, Illinois has a small yard and I would love to remove as much grass as possible and put in native plants to attract birds. I have planted a garden but end up battling rabbits. I put up bird feeding station and made the sparrows really happy as well as mice! We have a home in Cedar River, Michigan was previously used to graze livestock and horses. It has about 5 acres cleared the the remaining 35 is wooded. There is a nice pond. The concern here is that I have a lot of non-native buckthorn and phragmites grass that have taken over the pasture area. I need to work to remove that in a non-chemical way if at all possible before I can start over. Deer and bear are problems here for any bird feeding station. In the future I would love to have a very large garden for food production and include berry and fruit trees. Our last location is in Watersmeet, Michigan. We have a home on a private lake and our 20 acres is adjacent to the Ottawa National Forests. It is mostly wooded. I have feeders on our porch near the house but bear have been a problem as well as birds hitting my kitchen window. I would like to plant more native flowers that are hopefully deer resistant. I would also love to learn more about gardening at the water's edge to improve nesting sites for aquatic birds. We have loons and I would love to make things as favorable for them as possible. As you can see, I have my work cut out for me!
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We moved into our house on Hilton Head Island a year ago. We have a lagoon in the backyard and tall live oaks and pine trees. I have put out feeders and had some landscaping done to attract the birds. We have a long way to go to reach our goals of providing an oasis for the birds and wildlife. I have 4 feeding areas for the birds and they visit all day long. I would like to create a lusher garden full of plants that offer natural food to them as well as the option for feeding on seeds at the feeders. I do have issues with deer and raccoons as well as feral cats. Feeders are baffled and up high as well as camouflaged with branches to keep the occasional feral cats at bay. The deer eat everything so that is also a challenge. I plant something and the next day they are gone or pulled up out of the ground. I am taking this class to learn more about our native plants and to hopefully find ideas that will enrich the biodiversity but also discourage the “trouble makers.”
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I battle deer too and am looking at native plants to deter their grazing. We also have black bears. They have destroyed some feeders. The Michigan DNR wants feeders removed for at least 30 days after a bear visit which can certainly make feeding the birds a challenge. Best of luck on your bird gardening. I look forward to learning more from this course as well.
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I live in Washington, DC. We have a deep, sunny back yard with a pond at the back (lots of frogs and dragonflies). There's a healthy rabbit population in the neighborhood so we bought a raised garden bed to grow herbs and lettuces. We recently started planting more native plants in our perennial beds such as bee balm, turtlehead and cone flowers. I'd like to remove a lot of the Siberian iris which is non-native and has become somewhat invasive and add some shrubs or even small native trees to provide year-round cover and perches. Weeds are a huge problem. We use one corner of the back yard to grow annuals for cutting and I'd love ideas on what natives might be appropriate for that purpose. We put seed out once or twice a day on our deck railing and also have a bird bath that attaches to the railing. These attract a lot of birds brave enough to get close to the house such as sparrows, blue jays, cardinals, mourning doves and an occasional red-bellied woodpecker. Carolina wrens often show up after the big guys have moved on. Squirrels also show up on the railing for seeds and water. We used to see a lot of chickadees and titmice and I'd like to try and attract them - don't know where they went! The back lawn has almost no grass, but it greens up every spring and looks fine when it's mowed. In the fall a purplish pink ground cover in the lawn attracts lots of honey bees.
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I just really enjoy being outside both in winter and summer whether it is in my yard or the big outdoor yard of nature. My back yard has many vegetable garden boxes which I love tending. I also have an evergreen, mountain ash, chokecherries and native roses, snowberries and silver willow bushes, a fire pit and flower pots. This is all packed in a medium sized city yard. I am happy with my back yard. I don't sit in the yard that often but enjoy working in puttering. My front yard has a dogwood and two evergreens but the rest is grass which I don't tend very well. A couple of years ago I made two garden boxes and filled them with native plants and seeds. I would like to grow more native plants in my front yard as the grass does not provide any diversity for wildlife. Merlins. Robins, House Wrens, migrating sparrows, Juncos, House Sparrows, Cedar Wax Wings, Chickadees, Nuthatches, Northern Flickers, Grackles and Crows are some of the birds I see in my yard along with mice, jackrabbits and squirrels. Generally I see them foraging for food and robins, sparrows and wrens will nest in my yard if there are not a lot of Merlins around that year. I feed the birds i the winter both seeds and suet. Birds and squirrels come for the fare. I would like to bring more insects, butterflies, bees and birds into my yard by changing what I plant and grow providing a suitable habitat as many species are losing more and more of their habitat.
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We bought a house in Lake Arrowhead, CA and live there half the week to be closer to nature. Our house is surrounded by huge conifers and black oaks, but unfortunately we lost 10 huge trees during a big storm, which also means fewer birds are visiting. We want to be mindful and intentional in what we plant to replace the trees, especially since it will take decades for anything to mature to what was lost. Not only with trees that we plant, but native shrubs and smaller trees as well. We also have a seasonal creek, and are curious to see how things evolve throughout the seasons. Right now we have a lot of Steller's Jays, Red-Winged blackbirds, Northern Flickers and occasionally Eurasion Collared Doves. We had hawks and falcons who would visit in the big trees before they fell, and are hoping they'll come visit us again.
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We started converting our existing garden to Natives last year and any new gardens like this one has been Natives only. We have seen a huge increase in biodiversity in our yard. From birds to insects, reptiles and mammals. It has been fascinating to watch them all come in. We also have a very difficult task or removing many non-native invasive species in our yard that have created monocultures in are surrounding woodlands and lawn. Our dream is to recover our entire property and then slowly start removing the non-native invasives in the surrounding woodlands. We put this Native hellstrip in, in late spring/early summer of 2021. This year during our extreme heat and drought we witnessed a number of things we’d like to reassess this fall and winter. However, most of the plants thrived regardless of these factors. This picture is from this year about mid summer.
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Beautiful. This is something I would like to get to in my yard. Of course "seeing" ahead a couple of years is difficult. And learning the native species is challenging. We also have wind at various times off the mountains... 30-40 mph !
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My husband and I purchased our first home near Albany, NY early this past spring, on about 1.8 acres in a suburban area, with a lot of development in one direction and a nature preserve in the other. We decided to hold off on doing more than basic maintenance to the yard and property for our first year - partially out of necessity (the house itself was in relatively dire need of some love) and because we could tell the yard contained some mature garden that we knew nothing about from the previous owners, who lived here for the last 70 years and clearly cherished their outdoor space. The time we were able to spend outdoors has been occupied enjoying the front porch, and the feeder and bird bath I've put nearby, and having the occasional fire in the backyard. I mowed the grass areas (sporadically), and my husband waged war against the oriental bittersweet that had grown to horrific proportions and was threatening many mature trees on the property. I spent a lot of time on iNaturalist learning about what was already growing on the property, and unfortunately it appears that much of it is non-native, and worse, some is invasive. All is very overgrown. Our goals for next year are to establish a small vegetable / herb garden, and to begin the slow and gradual process of reclaiming or completely re-doing the gardening and landscaping on the rest of the property. There is a steep bank that leads down to a seasonal stream bordering one side of our yard, and another steep section in the back drops off to a small creek and marshy area. It's currently almost impossible to physically access either due to dense growth of bittersweet, invasive honeysuckle, buckthorn and some poison ivy, but I'd love to be able to clear a small space to sit and birdwatch in these areas. I read a bit about permaculture and decided to try starting from the areas nearest the house and work outward; this will also allow me to prioritize permanently removing the wisteria and English ivy that has decided to try and grow inside, as opposed to outside, the house. I'm hoping this course will help me learn how to incorporate native plants that will attract and provide for more birds, especially hummingbirds, and develop a long-term plan for the property that will be reasonable to maintain and supportive of the local ecosystem. I imagine I will be revisiting the course material MANY times over the coming decades!
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I have slowly increased the planting of natives around the house and am slowly expanding with annual flowers and perennials. I have loved seeing the increase in birds. Small puddles in areas I have laid a tarp to clear vegetation, have attracted even more birds for the water. I make sure to keep the puddles present. I want to make the backyard full of trees and flowers and other natives that not only attract birds, but make the space a natural and friendly environment for men too :)
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I love to sit on my patio and enjoy morning coffee, meals throughout the day and drinks in the evening with friends! We have many cardinals, robins and goldfinches in our yard. I've always put annuals in the patio space for looks but am very intrigued to put native plants in instead to attract birds and butterflies!
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I began gardening in the PNW about 20 years ago. My MIL was a rose fanatic so I wanted that too. I have about 50 or so now. I also focused on just beauty without thinking about birds, bees, and wildlife. And yeah, it’s like park out there. But then I retired and started thinking about birds and how I could support more wildlife. I haven’t been focusing on natives AT ALL. So what I want to change is just that. I will identify the few natives that I have (a snowberry for sure) then try to figure out where I can put some others. I do have a lot of birds-chickadees, towees, wrens, woodpeckers including pileated, downy, and flicker. Robins, warblers, sparrows, junkos, and hummingbirds. I have recently started mulching with natural woody chips and I can already see birds preferring to hop around these beds and not so much just the feeder. Where you see the rock wall is where I lost a huge hemlock tree. It was a sad day when that came down as it displaced so many birds. I replaced it with a parrotia (not native) and the kousa dogwood. The native dogwood in the back is my neighbors and provides for some of what mine lacks. I would love to see more waxwings.
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Your backyard is beautiful! I can see how it would bring you much joy!
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Beautiful!
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Lovely!!
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I saw, on an Ebird photo, and orange slid over a branch. Like in this photo. And I learned, from this course, that water is more important than seeds, relatively. I installed 2 water baths, and 1-2-3, seed feeders. I saw, 6 American Goldfinches, all together, last week. And a male and female Cardinal, together, almost 5 times in the past week. This method, is more educated, than, say, putting a huge amount of seeds, and little/no water. thx. bjorn k.
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We moved to Fort Collins, CO from Texas six months ago. I have been taking a wait-and-see approach to the garden. We have terraced beds on the north side of the house that will be a challenge, as half of the beds are in shade most or all of the day. I'm hoping to identify native plants that will do well there. One of the beds gets a lot of morning (and some afternoon) sun, and I plan to put a birdbath there with a solar fountain, surrounded by flowering plants to attached butterflies and (I hope) hummers. I look forward to the challenge!
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I live in a suburb northwest of Edmonton, AB, Canada. My front yard faces North and my bird feeder there brings in chickadees, nuthatches and downy, and pileated woodpeckers as well as the occasional flicker. My yard has no trees, but the neighbours’ trees which are tall spruce, ash and elm seem to bring the birds to the area. I would love to remove our front lawn and replace it with mainly low maintenance evergreen species, complementary native plants and shrubs to provide cover, nesting habitat and natural sources of food. My backyard, facing south, is where we spend all our time enjoying our deck, watching the birds at the feeders and bird baths and playing with the dogs. We recently put in some raised vegetable beds at the back of the yard where I also have a small very productive Evans cherry tree, a couple grapevines growing along the chainlink fence and a couple haskap bushes that the birds eat all the berries off before I manage to harvest any. The rest of the yard is lawn except for the entire east side along the fence which previously had a garden of perennials I had planted including a beautiful dropmore honeysuckle which attracted hummingbirds. Unfortunately, this farden has been overun by quack grass and so most of plants I put in have been strangled out. Ideally, I would love to get rid of the quack grass ( without chemical intervention) and fill the garden with hardy native plant species including some trees for shade as well as food and cover for wildlife as I only have the cherry tree and a lilac bush with any height or density in the area. I would also love to see a variety of colours in the plants and flowers throughout the year. Because of the dog, I will need to maintain some lawn, but I am okay with reducing the amount we have. Overall, there is a lot of potential given the southern exposure and lack of trees right now and I would just love to increase the biodiversity in my yard.
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I am taking out my lawn in the front yard inside my picket fence. I have two shade trees, very large: a flowering crabapple and a locust. I am in Denver, zone 5b. I want a design that offers native bird and pollinator friendly plants in a more orchestrated design so that the birds who come have shelter, seed from the feeders, water and their own favorite plants and shrubs to hang out in. I want to be the neighborhood bird mom! It is an adventure I have been thinking about for awhile. The challenge will be the shade. I have high hopes that it will be just lovely in the end with patience.
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I am from the Texas Blackland Prairie Region. I have never personally grown a garden, but I have grown a mixed woods/forest on my acreage, which used to be ag land. I have spent special care and time into the trees and fixing the pH of my large pond, now nestled within the wooded area, with native species (plant life and wildlife) to facilitate the healthy production of oxygen and natural pond bacteria back into it, in the hopes that migrating Anseriformes, Galliformes, et cetera, will have a safe haven when stopping by. Of course, I will be looking into similar effects of native fish on water health. I have always had personal gardening in the back of my mind, but with the amount of pole-driving and other maintenance required on the land, as well as our rescues, that has been put aside. I am currently working heavily with my local Wetland Center and have finally decided to make that push back to studying what will be the most beneficial for myself, plant life, insect life, bird life, et cetera, which is all in turn cyclical in the grand scheme of a native ecosystem. The wetland ecology is very new to me with the vast biodiversity present. I have even made a point to work with the Center and a former university of mine to reintroduce Bobwhite Quail in the vast secession of open lands in that region still. Even though not passerines, our quail are a great sign of a healthy ecosystem as well, and so I hope to achieve multiple ecological benefits via working with native plants with my own gardening, the Wetland Center's gardening, and even the native ecosystem of the wetlands itself. Our local nesting pair of Bald Eagles would be very happy to have a new plentiful source of food for their young, as well as our Northern Crested Caracaras, Northern Harriers, the huge number of Turkey Vultures recently rereleased into the wetlands, our rare-for-Texas Barn Owls, Red-tailed Hawks, et cetera, as well as ultimately a great return of a very important species back into our natural ecosystem. P.S. This is why I am always looking for any new courses that pop up relating to Galliformes like the New World Quail. :D Here is a photo, March 19, 2022, of the nesting Bald Eagles, JBS 16 and JBS 17, finally popping up, still not fledging, but almost! They hatched in February of 2022.
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I love working, relaxing and hanging out with my dogs in the yard. My yard is a bit on the ‘wild side’ . It includes a large redwood and an oak tree, and fruit trees (orange, lemon, apple, pear and fig). There are also several different shrubs: salvia varietals, wild currant, abutylon, blackberry and blueberry. A few rose bushes and hydrangeas complete the landscape. Insects are welcome, including spiders. Several birds are already visiting: California Towhees, juncos, sparrows, scrub jays, hummingbirds, chickadees, and a nuthatch. Occasionally I get warblers, spotted towhees, and a horde of bushtits using my birdbath. I would like to increase diversity in my yard getting rid of some decorative plants that have become invasive and replace with California native flowering perennials or annuals. I am in Oakland, hardiness zone 10b and my soil has a large amount of clay. Summers are dry and have become dryer and dryer in the past 15 years.
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We live in middle Georgia, and have been here almost 4 years. We recently worked with a local horticulturist to naturescape our front yard with native plants to help attract bees, hummingbirds, birds and butterflies. It's definitely a work in progress! We had a path made in the backyard so we could put in some planting beds. I have been slowly researching native plants that will be beneficial to all of our wildlife (squirrels, rabbits, small ground squirrels) and birds, in addition to the bees and butterflies. To be honest, it's a bit overwhelming! But I love planning it out and am hopeful this course will help me figure out good ways to naturescape our yard to be welcoming to everything. The one struggle I have here is the soil...it is heavy, red clay and is incredibly hard to work with (i.e. digging and moving) so I am trying to plan things in stages so I don't get discouraged and can work with the small yard we have to make it a special space.
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I live in the mountains at an elevation of around 7,000 feet. There is snow on the ground nearly half the year. Our home is saturated on 5 1/2 acres which is heavily forested. I feed the birds year round using feeders and attract many birds..nuthatches, pine silken, chickadees, stellar jays, woodpeckers, flickers, juncos, grosbeaks and occasionally hummingbirds. I would like to provide them with more naturally grown food as well as attract butterflies and pollinators. This summer I hope to establish a prairie like garden in my backyard. In the front and sides of our home I would like to establish some low growing shrubs and trees as well as create a water feature. I would love to observe some nests and to date have been unable to do this. Also if I could attract owls to my property it would be a dream come true. We are visited by bears, deer and coyotes. Oh, I left out that I would love to also attract mountain bluebirds.
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Gardening at elevation is a challenge! Lots to learn. I just put up a mountain bluebird house today with my grandsons. It is in the field, facing somewhat east, about 50 feet from two pines for the future fledglings to land on. It is on a pole about 6 feet in the air. I have seen a few bluebirds in the summer at the feeder or in the yard. Hoping one of them likes the box! We have little shade on the house and have added some deciduous trees in the hopes they will grow and do well.
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I live in Gloucester, MA, in a house my grandparents moved into in the early 1900’s. We are at the edge of the woods in an area where granite was once quarried. There are good places to swim and huge piles of scrap granite in the middle of the trees and bushes. We see deer, fox, raccoons, and lots of squirrels as well as occasional fisher cats. There are plenty of birds in the trees and at the feeders - mostly chickadees, blue jays, cardinals, mourning doves, sparrows, juncos, and nuthatches. I plan to add some perennials to the yard and would love to learn about what I can plant which would support and encourage the birds and butterflies and survive the deer and other creatures.
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I live in Southern New Jersey in a suburban area. We have 0.5 acre with multiple levels and areas of our yard. Have lots of bird feeders. Want to plant native plants and perennials to support birds and other critters.
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I live in western Missouri and attract birds to my yard through bird feeders. Kansas City has neighborhoods that resemble suburbs but are within the urban environment. We don't abut any large tracts of trees or nature areas so I want to start planting to attract more birds by providing a more natural habitat for them and for us. We have dogs so the area will have to have space for them to run. Right now I have three elevated beds where I plant herbs and flowers for butterflies but the rest of the yard is sparse and needs some loving care.
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We have a large yard with a woodland bordering a pasture (not ours). We have several mature trees and this habitat is frequented by cardinals, tufted titmice, chickadees, nuthatches and several varieties of woodpeckers. I love the trees, but having so much shifting shade and deep shade limits the perennials and shrubs I can grow successfully. I’d love to have more color but am not sure what would grow. We are zone 7-8 in upstate SC.
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I live north of Boston, about 1/4 mile inland from the ocean; I am fortunate enough to have the view of the neighbor's lovely pond which hosts great egrets, grey herons, red-wing blackbirds, mallard ducks, and an occasional cormorant or green heron. I also have a large lawn, pine trees and several flower gardens abutting the pond. Although I have tried over the years to plant these gardens with native perennials, these don't always result in new birds although they do attract bees and butterflies. I would like to find plants that attract a wider variety of birds; in winter the bird feeder and garden are populated by blue jays, juncos, purple finches, nuthatches, chickadees, cardinals, mourning doves, goldfinches (in their early spring plumage)but summer visitors are not as varied, with Carolina wrens, redwing blackbirds and various raptors passing through. It could be that the native plants need to be repositioned to better attract the attention of birds, or I need to plant more. I look forward to learning what and how in this course.
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I live in Maine have been slowly phasing out the invasive/non-native plants that were put in by the previous owner of our house. There are some areas that are very sparsely planted with non-native shrubs that I am looking to replace with native plants that will provide more shelter and berries/fruit. During the summer I have a flower and vegetable garden, but would like to focus more on choosing plants that will attract more birds and beneficial insects. Though I already see quite a variety of birds visiting our yard, I am curious to see how changes to the garden and landscaping might impact that.
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Hi Kate! We also live in Maine, in the very southeast region. What part of Maine are you from? We would love to chat about plant ideas and such! :) – Cam and Val
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We live outside of Boston on about 3 acres. I put up feeders with suet, hulled sunflower hearts, and thistle seed and have flocks of goldfinches and juncos; smaller numbers of house finches, white throated sparrows, house wrens, nuthatches, chickadees, mourning doves, downy/hairy and red-bellied woodpeckers, occasional bluejays and cardinals, robins and 3 nesting pairs of bluebirds. We used to get Evening Grosbeaks but haven't seen them in years. Very rarely see a Rose Breasted Grosbeak. I have a large perennial garden that draws Ruby Throated Hummingbirds in the spring (seem to love Coral Bells). The lawn is rimmed with maple trees and white pine and there are a number of apple trees. My biggest problem are several very happy families of woodchucks that LOVE echinacea, sunflowers, and asters, so I haven't been able to plant those for the birds and butterflies. Any suggestions about managing them (or working around them) would be greatly appreciated. Many efforts over the years to reduce their numbers haven't been very successful!
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I live in southeastern Pennsylvania in a mixed rural/residential landscape. I am keenly aware that development has encroached on habitats for many creatures and birds. When we moved into the house, I was delighted with the large flower garden created by the former owner. But after observing the birds, and particularly the hummingbirds, I have started removing the hybrid cultivars planted by the former owner and am phasing in native plants. The change is remarkable - I now have butterflies I have never seen before, and the hummingbirds return every spring! This winter goldfinches and juncos are feasting on the rudbeckia seeds! So, it is well worth going the whole way to plant all natives. We have dozens of mature white pines, and some deciduous trees - but we need some understory plants and bushes. The goal is to add some bird houses - and have plants that the deer won't devour!
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I live in the dense, urban part of Seattle, and for a year I have lived in an apartment with a small balcony that is North facing, but with a good bit of access to Western light as well. There are two very large trees in the alley next to the balcony that have a lot of wildlife, especially for being in the middle of the city! I often see sitting in the tree: hawks, bushtits, dark-eyed juncos, robins, multiple types of woodpeckers, crows, stellars jays, and the most common: Anna's hummingbirds. Also as a squirrel that lives there and for a few weeks a racoon sleeping in squirrel's nest during the day. I love having this habitat right outside my window and I want to learn how to complement it with the limited space on my balcony. I think my options will be limited given the North orientation, but I am excited to give it a try!
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We have lived in the St. Croix Valley of Minnesota on about 2 acres with almost 100 red pines situated around our house for almost 30 years. We have created a beautiful garden space that many birds come to, nest and breed during the spring, summer and fall. We also feed them year-round. We have been birdwatchers for many years but I am now formalizing this process for myself as I am on the cusp of retirement. I'm hoping to increase my learning of what to add to this garden to improve the bird/insect attraction and build an additional wildflower garden space in an area where we had to take down some diseased pines last year.
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We live in southeastern Michigan and are fortunate to have a park and golf course nearby, providing green space in an otherwise heavy residential area. We have a large lawn area that I hope to gradually change to have more native plants and trees. Our backyard is part woods, and when we sit outside in the evening we can see and hear all kinds of activity, including owls and doves. I am hoping to attract a wider variety of birds into my yard- a bird sanctuary of sorts.
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I live in central Illinois and am surrounded by corn and soy bean fields. I want to provide food, water and habitat for all birds and animals on my 2:2 acres. I would like to have both cultivated and natural spaces and significantly reduce the amount of lawn. I am concerned, however, about attracting wildlife and pollinators because of the spraying done on the farm fields. I essentially have a blank canvas. There are a few trees white pines, soft maples, a cottonwood and a red bud plus a few I don’t know. There are also a few bushes, forsythia, lilac, elderberry, tiger eye sumac, viburnum, holly, yew, and a few I don’t know. Am looking forward to gaining knowledge and resources to create a natural habitat.
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We live on a residential street in Los Angeles and will build a “granny flat” in our small backyard for my parents. This means our green space will be reduced to a small patio space (for us) and an L-shaped narrow corridor for my parents. We will have a common area in our driveway and have a thin green perimeter of tenuifolium pittosporum (had to look that up) that Black phoebe and maybe some finches seem to like. A phone line is a favorite spot of some doves, but not sure what type (we have experienced the absence of mourning doves, when we used to hear them all the time). I want to make sure we design our green space to maximize hospitality to our local birds. I like working in my front yard to tidy it up, but haven’t given a lot of attention to actually gardening. I am new to birdwatching (pandemic-related) and so all of this is quite new, and I admit a little exciting, to me.
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I live in a house we recently bought in Northern New Jersey. We like to read, eat, and watch birds in our yard. Right now it's a lot of grass and, thankfully, many old (and healthy) trees. We have everything from hemlocks to a Maple to a holly tree. I'd like to eliminate a lot of our grass with colorful native grass, and turn the leftover grass into a clover lawn. I'd also like it to feel more fairytale/magical-like in general. The folks who lived her before us had it highly landscaped- bushes cut into shapes- the whole nine yards. As for current birds, we have five feeders and have managed to attract, house sparrows, white-throated sparrows, dark-eyed juncos, bluejays, house finches, white and red-breasted nuthatches, black-capped chickadees, cardinals, robins, and both American and fish crows. Also, downy woodpeckers, hairy woodpeckers, red-bellied woodpeckers, and yellow-bellied sapsuckers. The smaller birds definitely love hiding in our bushes, so putting in a lot more different kind of ground cover makes sense. During spring migration we got a few warblers- I'd love to get many more.
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I live in Lebanon, NH and have noticed over the past 3 years a decline in the number of birds and bird species. If there's gardening to be done that will help the birds, I'd like to try to help them.
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We moved to a new house this past summer. My backyard is wide but not as deep and almost a blank slate. We do have 2 mature trees (a sycamore and pin oak) and an area the previous owners used as a vegetable garden. I have a suet feeder and block feeder up to supplement the black oil sunflower seeds. I do get downy woodpeckers, red-bellied woodpeckers, house finches, house sparrows, and a few cardinals. I see juncos in the winter. I think part of the problem for the birds is they have no place to hide from predators except in the trees. In the winter, the bare trees don't offer much protection. I also have very little gardening experience. In our last house, we had the landscaping all done professionally. I am not opposed to this, but would like to try to do some planting/designing on my own. My front yard is also pretty bare, minus 2 ash and 1 maple. A garden with colorful native plants and shrubs would be nice. I would like to attract butterflies and plan on adding a bird bath too. I do know it will take time for the plants to grow. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I'm in Zone 5b. I know there's a lot to unpack here.
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We just rented a home in San Luis Obispo, CA. Despite an under-abundance of funds and the fact that our home is rental, I just have to do this for the neighborhood! This yard has so much more to give. Plus we've been given free reign over the yard. We love to be outside; coffee, sunbathing, birdwatching. But there are virtually no birds in my yard. As a bird biologist and birder, this is a source of daily melancholy. My yard is dominated by thick grasses (non-native? Seems like quack grass), Bermuda buttercup, petty spurge, musk stork's bill. We have a Taiwan firethorn that a mockingbird sampled once, a lemon tree, and a stately Chinese elm. Nothing native as far as I can tell. What we do like is the size of the property, the 10x10 raised garden bed, the angles of light (plentiful!), and that it is essentially a blank canvas. We also think the elm is nice, but could use some companion veg to make it an appealing perch.
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One of my favorite birds is the Eastern bluebird. This tagged male is back again for the fifth season. His first mate was also tagged but she did not return last March 2021. He has a new mate :) To date, I have identified 46 species but know that I could attract more birds, butterflies, and beneficial insects with a thoughtfully planned out "naturescape."
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We live in Wilton, New Hampshire and have 5 acres of forest and gardens. We abut several hundred acres of conserved mixed forest and fields which adds to the habitat quality of our property. This is our third home and we are long time birders and conservation activists so have always focused on improving our properties to optimize habitat for birds and wildlife. Our last home was Certified Habitat for Wildlife by National Wildlife Federation. When we moved into our home in Wilton, we had to uncover gardens and prune old apple trees. We also cut some trees and shrubs to make pollinator gardens. I raked and then dug into the soil to open it up an area for seeding native wildflowers. Goldenrod and asters germinated and added to the Purple Coneflowers, daisies, clovers, phlox,lupine, and other wildflowers. We created a small pool which is enjoyed by the birds, frogs, and even an American toad which laid eggs in it and we had toad tadpoles. Wood and brush piles are scattered around our forest and we added native shrubs/vines that offer fruit like dogwoods, virginia creeper, serviceberry, raspberries and high-bush cranberries. At last count, we have had 110 birds migrate, breed, visit or live on our property over the past 7 years.
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You are my aspirational role model!
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We live on 1.3 acres of land above a bird preserve called Potter Marsh in Anchorage, Alaska. I have fenced, raised gardens for moose free vegetables, and some flowers beds that are generally buffets for the local feral rabbit population. A large portion of the front is in lawn. Although I have seen an increase in the numbers of bees since I started throwing clover seed out every spring, it is still pretty sterile from a native plant standpoint. I am hoping to build native plant islands to encourage more butterflies and birds to spend time in the yard. We can only have bird feeders out for the winter since we need to be mindful of the bears visiting, so finding plants that the birds will enjoy is going to be a fun project.
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I live on a hill. At the top of the hill, about 50 ft from my windows are my birdfeeders, water, and native grasses. Down the hill a way, is my cultivated raised garden for veggies and cutting flowers, native perennials and a pollinator garden. Beyond that is a grass field and pine/deciduious forest. I get common birds (morning doves, sparrows, finches, cardinals) flying in for the birdfeeders but rarely see them in my gardens. Question: Are they just taking the easy way to get food? Is this not helpful for them? Should I not have feeders when I have so much natural diversity?
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We live in western Massachusetts high on a hill that we fondly refer to as hawk knoll. Yes, lots of hawks soaring overhead We have an overgrown garden that is challenging as it is shaded off and on during the day. I would like to replant it with mostly large perennials and shrubs. I am hoping to learn more about bird attracting bushes for my planting zone from this course. We have many redtail hawk, owls, some piliated woodpeckers, indigo buntings, Northern flickers and many gold finches to name a few of our visitors. I am a novice in bird observations. I am sure we have many other species. Now in January we have few feathered friends. But come spring the yard will be teeming. I watch mostly from my sun porch office with windows on three sides. In some ways this is ideal as I don't frighten the birds away and I can observe them. Some of the mating dances are quite entertaining.
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My husband and I purchased 5.5 acres in 2020. In 2021 we planted 12 fruit trees, 25 chokecherry saplings (from our state forestry service) and numerous perennials. It's been amazing to see the number of pollinators that have visited this first year. I'm hoping to plant more native trees and shrubs in the coming years to provide both food and shelter for the birds. While I fill many feeders, I want to be able to plant a natural buffet for the birds as well.
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My husband and I just moved from a large city to his family's ranch in Northeast Texas after both of us retired. The ranch has forests, hay pastures and water sources. Our home is on 1.8 acres with mostly oak and pine trees. We have one flower bed in the front of the house. We have been birders for many years and are very excited about improving what is already a good habitat for birds. We have documented over 120 species of birds on the ranch and are currently enjoying our wintering sparrows, Brown Thrashers and Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets among others. During recent colder weather, I started putting out Sunflower seeds as supplement for the birds. My husband gave me this course as a Christmas present and we are anxious to see what we can do to improve our space for the birds and ourselves. Supporting our year-round resident birds, in addition to the migrants, Summer nesters and Winter residents is an important goal for us as we plan our retirement activities in this beautiful place.
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Native plantings and how flowers evolve through the seasons: May-daffodils; June-geraniums, shasta daisies; July-daylilies, coral bells, coneflowers. Would like to attract more berry-feeding birds and discourage feeding on blueberries.
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We have a small property in Eastern PA. Whether I realized it or not, it was the landscaping that sold me on the home when we bought it. However, I had no experience in gardening - just a love of beautiful flowers and birds inherited from my mom and the beautiful Central VA area when I grew up. Over the years I’ve grown to appreciate the value of natives and less lawn. All the stories here are so inspiring!! We added a small pond to our backyard a couple of years ago and the birds are over the moon with it. Love the little frogs that call it home too.
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We live on Bogue Banks in NC. We are working on our native plant gardening in Maritime Forest which is low light and sand. We have pots for herbs and raised bed for other food plantings. Our biggest challenge is using the outdoor space. In our area mosquitoes are present and very active 24 hours a day and about 9 months of the year. Not wanting to cover ourselves in DEET just to sit or work outside we miss a lot of the enjoyment of our yard space. Wanting to protect our bee population and insect feeding species, we do not spray our yard to control the mosquitoes. Are there any suggestions for natural mosquito controls for a mosquito challenged area like ours? Thanks and Happy Planting!
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I live in Laramie, Wyoming - elevation 7220, zone 4 if we're lucky. We just moved into town from a prairie setting that had wonderful native birds (mountain bluebirds, goldfinches, 3 hummingbird species, tree swallows..). We are starting from scratch with a front and back yard that are mostly grass, and that we are excited to convert to pollinator and bird habitat. Audubon Rockies has a habitat hero program, which has good information for this area. Our bird feeders and bird baths are attractants for a lot of invasive bird species (Eurasian collard doves, English (aka house) sparrows, starlings), so we have realized we need to focus on habitat and food sources for the native bird species. We have mountain chickadees, red-breasted and white-breasted nuthatches, flickers, and downy woodpeckers regularly visiting. Any/all suggestions and ideas are welcome!
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I am in Denver, and have found Audubon Cheyenne (WY) to have especially useful info and events (online recently, but maybe also in person in future). (In case you are not familiar with this resource:) If you ever drive towards Denver (but not as far south and definitely not in the urban traffic!), consider visiting High Plains Env'l Center. It's a non-profit where we can see lots of native plants that grow with very little or no water beyond precipitation. May not represent your zone optimally, but... And they sell native plants that they grow themselves. My experience with these plants is that they thrive in my yard, which has no soil amendments, little irrigation, and suburban. https://high-plains-environmental-center.square.site/ and https://suburbitat.org/ .
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@jenifer Thanks so much for the websites. They look great. We are in Black Forest at 7300 feet in the front range so a good resource for me.
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I live near Georgian Bay in Ontario Canada. We have large gardens and lots of birds. I want to plant more native species that support bug and bird life. This will likely mean swapping out some of our plantings.
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I live in northern Virginia and have a busy bird feeder: chickadees, downy woodpeckers, tufted titmice, nuthatches, cardinals, bluebirds, a few goldfinch... And I'm the proud host of two groups of baby bluebird hatchlings for the first time this summer. I love throwing clover seed into my lawn. Most of my favorite plantings get gobbled by deer, and we have some actively-munching caterpillar varieties, too. On one side, there's a fairly busy road, so I want to plant some more plants to reduce the noise from the road and create 'quieter' areas for visiting birds.
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I live in central Alabama, with wooded/forest on 2 1/2 sides of my back yard. I enjoy watching birds coming to my feeders. Each year I see more and more. The cardinals have homes nearby in the forest--sometimes I'll see as many as 12 (6 male/6 female). My favorite is the Carolina Wren. Also have frequent visits from Tufted Titmouse, Chickadee, and Mourning Dove. I want to grow natives that cater to the needs of birds and pollinators and use feeders more as a supplement for them. I have also created raised beds and hope to grow fruits and vegetables for myself and neighbors--see if we can co-exist.
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We just bought our property in October and we are lucky to have a Native Plant Identification group. Since our land was "properly landscaped" to sell, it seems there are mostly invasive plants (including 2 trees) and almost all nonnatives. We have a large front yard and sizeable backyard, a long driveway with land behind it that is a new mound septic system that we would like to turn into a wildflower meadow. We also live next to and across from a wooded area. I would like the front yard to have some sitting spaces for birding and nature journaling. I would like to have some paths and garden areas sectioned off for plants and wildflowers. We get robins, woodpeckers dark-eyed juncos, white throated sparrows, some cardinals and starlings. I would like to attract hummingbirds, tufted titmouse, chickadees and cedar waxwings. I would like to see a greater variety of birds. The previous owners left a birdbath which I believe brings up water from underground but I am unsure how it works. They also left a pond kit which is not installed and am hoping to install it this spring. We have a window bird feeder but our birds are more interested in seeds I throw on the ground. I have a couple of other feeders I have yet to put out, I need a place to hang them.
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We have a couple of acres of land in Kentucky that we are trying to increase overall biodiversity on. Some is fairly mature deciduous forest like in the picture (taken from my hammock), but much was just grassy yard. We are trying to plant native plants and replace much of the grass. I have already planted over 90 small trees and many shrubby plants as well. We are a little limited in the front yard due to our ground mounted solar array. We have several bird feeders and a river/lake at the bottom of the property. We have a good beginning but look forward to more natives in the future!
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I live in central Virginia in the downtown area of a smaller university town. I have been on a "grass elimination" project for most of the last 18 years that I have lived here. I am blessed with an enormous oak tree that rules over the property and am now down to a tiny patch of grass, which will soon be gone. I was alerted to the importance of native plants a number of years back, but without any training I have been "winging it" reading and talking with various individuals more knowledgeable than I, all extremely well meaning, but some, like myself, not always fully informed. I finally got more deeply involved after taking a "Master Naturalist" class. This increased my understanding of both where and how to find accurate information as well as where to purchase the proper plants. I just recently began working with a local landscape architect who is quite knowledgeable (as well as kind and patient) to continue to transform the property into one hospitable to people, plant and animal life. One final note: it was suggested that I take down an Eastern Red Cedar tree on the property to permit more sunlight to penetrate the area beneath it. I said I couldn't do it, but agreed to "limb up" the tree for more light. A few days later I was sitting out in the garden reading when I suddenly noticed an enormous number of robins converge on the tree gorging on the beautiful berries. Just spectacular and all the encouragement needed to keep me learning and doing! I'm even thinking of adding a water feature (as opposed to a bath) which I have long avoided as too much maintenance. Thanks to all for your stories!
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In my outdoor space, I garden for food, & take walks. I do some bird watching... I try to identify plants & animals that catch my attention. I want to reduce the amount of invasive plants and increase the native plants. I want more flowers & more trees that support wildlife. I want to create habitat and beauty at the same time.
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I just love birds when they come to visit our garden and have a sip of water.Currently we have three nests each made by different species of birds: i)Scaly breasted Munia ii)little Spiderhunter iii)Common Tailor bird . I am very happy that our garden turned out to be great for our little feathered friends .
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My front and backyard are huge, with little area that supports gardening. The area is heavily wooded, and the soil quality is not great. I do have several areas that support some gardening, almost like gardening zones. We moved here five years ago, and I am reading more and more about woodland gardening! I have been a bird feeder for over 30 years, and a gardener at least that long. For most of that time, I saw those activities are parallel, not intersecting. I have many birds visiting. The pileated woodpeckers and Stellar's jays are probably my favorites. I have lived in NJ and WA where the American Goldfinch is the state birds. I never saw one until I moved to WA, and I have dozens visiting! I feed hummingbirds year round. As I inventory my bird tools, I have: 2 seed feeders, 2 suet feeders, 3 hummingbird feeders, and 3 birdbaths. Two of the birdbaths have solar features, but my hummingbirds love to fly and linger in the hose spray when I am watering the garden!
I started thinking more about gardening for birds after the pine siskin finch swarming this winter. My area of WA State experienced extreme swarming behavior including the spread of salmonella and the death of hundreds of birds. I had never seen anything like it before, and I brought my feeders in for more than three months. I am focusing now on gardening for birds with a goal of reducing my feeder use and the risk of swarming behavior and disease spread. While the experts say that is a cyclical behavior, I do hope I don't see it again. I would like to offer more native plants and natural food for my bird visitors. I know I will also need to improve the soil in my yard to support more gardening.
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My backyard is huge! I have four seed feeders spaced throughout the yard and multiple hummingbird feeders for when the birds are migrating. During bird migration, I do have a large variety of birds as well as my permanent residents. I live in North Central Texas where July and August can be dry and hot. I planted iris about 12 years ago, and while they are beautiful for about two weeks and drought resident, they don't attract wildlife. I have Turk's Cap and Trumpet Vine which the hummingbirds like and two large shade trees. There's not a specific species of bird that I want to attract. I would like to do more for the hummingbirds although they are only here about 3 months. My goal is to create a more natural environment for all my bird visitors.
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My wife and I live in a very developed area of Long Island and we both very much appreciate nature. In our own small way we wanted to 'give back' by planting a native garden in a section of our front yard. After only two years, and being very much novices, we are already seeing the rewards of both improved aesthetics to our yard as well as drawing more birds and insect pollinators. We are definitely hooked!
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These all look so well together! I recognize the coneflowers of course, but the others I don't. Would you kindly tell what other plants are included in this garden? Thank you!
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Hello, I live in Hong Kong and a garden is something very few people have around here. But I’m doing this course to help shape the garden of my friends place where I stay about once a week. The garden is on a birdy island, borders a little forest and is on the edge of an eco system. Its very hot and tropical here, the soil is not very good to grown in but I want to find a way to attract the birds to come down.
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living in Texas so trying to plant native that will survive our drought and then way too much rain all in the same week. We have an HOA so it is mandated that you keep 50% of your lawn. (Makes no sense to me in an area prone to drought so am working to change that.) In the meantime removing most of the grass I am allowed to. Putting in a mixture of rocks and mulch. In the mulched area I plan to plant more butterfly/bird friendly natives. In the rock areas cactus are a natural fit. I have 2 cactus gardens already that I have turned off the sprinklers in-the wrens love the cactus! I want to explore putting in some kind of water feature but it needs to be low maintenance. I have seen something at a birding area near us where it is a very thin drip line connected onto a log that does a very very slow drip onto a large rock/stone. Intriguing. What are some water features you guys have done? I have a bird bath so this doesn't need to be where they can immerse themselves but did want it to give the birds, and insects, frogs etc a place to get a drink during our hot summers and beyond. Also when its cold of course. It will be interesting to see what comes to a slow drip water feature. We live in the Central Flyway so there are quite a few migratory birds that come through. This last year I noticed quite a few different warblers so I am going to look up what sort of trees/plants they like on their way through. Any hints for me? We have a huge greenspace behind us so the forest is full of life, I would like to supplement that if I can. I look forward to your suggestions/ideas-and reading what you are doing as well. Thanks!
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We are landscaping a steep area next to our house that was overgrown with weeds and too steep to mow. We are adding retaining walls, a patio, and steps up to the small backyard. I want the area to be pretty and relaxing. We want to design with birds and butterflies in mind, and also to put in some bushes to provide privacy from the (not very busy) road. We live in Western Massachusetts, on the edge of a very large wooded area that also includes some small ponds. We hear many kinds of birds, identifying more by their songs all the time (thanks to Merlin), but do not see as much variety as we hear. I would love to attract cedar waxwings, among others.
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I live in New Hampshire and am new to both birding and native gardening. I became interested in birding through watching live safaris online, and they often do spots of birding. I thought, if they have such variety of birds in South Africa, all of our birds here can't just be brown and boring. So I started watching the birds in my backyard, and have really come to be amazed at the variety we do have. We have seen over 30 different types of birds, and are just getting started transforming the gardens and yard from a random mix of 'pretty plants' to a more intentional mix of natives. I am hoping to keep the good parts of our property - the woods are mostly native trees and we have a few wild growing beautiful natives, such as New Jersey Tea, that I have found - and swap non-natives in my flower beds to natives, as well as hopefully add some additional gardens along the edges of the woods which are currently lacking any understory/shrub layers. I have seen almost all of the birds that I initially had on my wish list, except for the scarlet tanager and indigo bunting. I have also added the Cedar Waxwing and Evening Grosbeak to my wish list, as well as hopefully one day starting to discern between the many types of warblers!
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I am a beginner gardener. A lot of what I’ve done in the garden is remove bad things from the previous owners, and plunk in trees and plants. I really want a plan!
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It already looks very beautiful and has a lot of potential!
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I love to garden and enjoy the many birds we see in our yard. I have chosen plants I like. Now I want to learn about what native plants are best for the birds. I am willing to remove plants that don’t benefit the birds and bugs and substitute native ones. I don’t use any chemicals in my yard. Many birds enjoy our pond. We keep a small section of it open in the winter too using a heater to melt the ice, and put up bird feeders. I would love to attract a wider variety of birds all year long. I like to tidy up the garden now and then, and at the end of the growing season. I’ll have to work on changing that habit too! I live in Massachusetts.
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This looks so lovely and peaceful. What birds do you attract to this area? While I live in WA State, I am also working toward more native plants, especially as a food source. I do have birds year round, including Anna's hummingbirds. Do you have any bird feeders?
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We use our outdoor space for growing food, for walking and enjoy nature, and for viewing from inside. Sometimes we have events outside like the wedding a few weeks ago. We would also like to have a walking path through the woods. We like that this is our space to create. We have never owned our home before. I like the trees and the sounds of birds, I like the plants 🌱 that surprised me with the coming seasons. changing the space; I would like to grow more food for me and for the birds, I would like to know the plants and birds that are present and bring in some plants that would bring beauty and nourishment for the soul.
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I have been gardening for wildlife for over 10 years. It has been more and more fulfilling each year. I've been seeing a greater diversity, as well as greater numbers of birds as I improve the sanctuary. I have learned a great deal and continue to learn. I have created a hummingbird courtyard garden, a large native prairie garden and an open woodland look to the front yard. I am still working on getting rid of lawn in the front yard and adding native plants. I live in southeastern Michigan, so the red bud trees, red twig dogwoods, elderberry and serviceberry bushes that I had planted are native to my area. I planted large masses of wild geraniums and blue bells under a hickory tree and mayapples under pine trees. I planted a dozen purple coneflowers out in full sun around the mailbox. In particular, I’d like to get rid of the rest of the lawn and plant native groundcovers around the red bud trees and the berry bushes. I participated in Project Feeder Watch this past year, so I set out more bird feeders. I enjoyed working for PFW a great deal and see a lot more birds around our home. One of my favorite times was in late spring, with the stunning arrival of a small flock of Baltimore orioles in my back yard. Other highlights that stood out from the usual ‘backyard birds’ were a pileated woodpecker, pair of rose-breasted grosbeaks, and a pair of mallards. We have a small pond area that I’d like to make more attractive to the ducks, who unfortunately left after staying a few weeks in late spring. My favorite place to spend time is in the hummingbird courtyard. I love waking up in the morning with a cup of coffee, watching the hummingbirds!
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I have a large yard set into a 41 acre horse farm. I hung a bird feeder outside the kitchen window in December and no birds came. We moved it to the south edge of the yard and hung it from a tree. Chickadees flocked to it from neighbouring trees. But none of our Windows gives a very good view. I realized that outside the kitchen window there are no trees or bushes close by so it is not attractive to birds. I need to develop that area to make it attractive—to birds and people. I am mainly interested in winter birds since where we live there so many bears that we are not supposed to hang bird feeders in the summer. So I have an area on the east side of the house that is odd shaped. A screened porch projects from the house on one side and a bay window projects from the kitchen. The septic tank is several feet out from the kitchen window. It needs to be dug up every three years, so we can’t plant perennials close to it. I’d like to put in a couple of raised planters for herbs and veggies.
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Hi! 41 acres - wow! It is wonderful to have that much land. There are great articles available on the internet including ones by Audubon that give recommendations for safe placements of feeders for birds. Those offer important guidelines. It can be a life or death decision for a bird to visit feeders. Also, great guidelines for what foods to offer (and avoid) and for cleaning feeders. Recommendation - keep your feeders sparkling clean. I would clean my oriole and hummingbird feeders daily and clean out my seed feeders (10% bleach water) every 2-3 weeks. As you know, there is a disease plaguing birds in the south so Audubon is recommending that all feeders be taken down. I have put in some native plants in my yard - although I have a long way to go to get rid of most of my monoculture - so I am seeing more birds in my yard taking advantage of these plants than I would otherwise because I do not have my feeders up.
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I host two 24/7 live bird and garden cams on YouTube (www.YouTube.com/c/kenlittle) and am gradually building out a garden and attempting to create an environment that provides more of what birds need, including flowers, insects, trees, cover, nesting boxes and food. Feeders are just a complement to the natural environment, as three seasons of the year birds for the most part feed on seeds, fruits, nuts and other insects in the area. My goal is to create an environment where they won’t have to leave to get what they need. I’m also gradually trying to build out a website (https://www.kenlittleblog.com) where I continue to add helpful information for subscribers seeking to attract birds to their yards.
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I live in SE PA. I am hoping to slowly convert my too big lawn into native plants. It will be a project for years to come.
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I live in WA State, and when we bought this house it had no lawn! We've never lived on a property with no lawn before. You certainly look at a yard and garden differently! The previous owners had hummingbird feeders; so I added those first. I tried a seed feeder in the backyard, but I attracted no birds. Most of my feeders are now in the front yard, and the number of bird visitors has just grown and grown. As I've added plants, the birds certainly don't seem to mind that there is no lawn!
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Last summer I saw my first ever yellow billed cuckoo in my yard. Also Scarlett tanager and both were in a pecan tree. This spring I saw a common yellowthroat warbler under a button bush. Also a flock of cedar waxwings. I have been planting for birds and would love to attract more.
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Wow - I have never seen a yellow billed cuckoo! That is fantastic. I would love to attract them to my yard. I live in Connecticut. Any recommendations on plants that attracted them? I don’t think pecan trees easily grow so far north but last year I planted a peach tree. It seemed to do ok this past New England winter.
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@Jenifer We had a yellow billed cuckoo in our yard once, also a western tanager but never the scarlet one. That was on our farmyard in Alberta.
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This was a 10 year project to return this little creek to its natural state...there were no trees, and invasive buttercup, moneywort, coltsfoot, and forget-me-nots all along its bank. We brought in ferns, wild strawberry dogwood shrubs, ash, willows, and many other native plants. We still have to clear the above invasives at least once a year, since we never seem to get them all. Our "coffee porch" overlooks this area, and we have photographed many, many birds that never come to feeders as well as the feeder birds all naturally doing what they are supposed to do. We put out one cup of black oil a day, only when bone dry, and in different locations and put the savings into restoring habitat...bird seed is a tiny part of what birds need! I was a garden designer, and kind of made the connection with using native plants over time. My property is STUFFED with plants, many exotic. Keeping after the invasives, and trying to convert the lawn into a functioning native grassland are the current projects. The lawn is the largest area right around the house, so the non-natives will remain until there is no more room to add natives and/or until I can find someone with muscle, as I am not very strong any more...I want to encourage everyone to think about their garden legacy...if you plant native plants and trees, it will not be a negative one. I visit gardens of older gardens, and they are a scary mess of exotic invasives that they thought they could control. As I get older I am planting more trees and shrubs that I can enjoy with less work.
We totally love all the cool new insects and our many species of warblers. I have to say I would love a redstart (a tall order, I know)...so one thing I do is "reverse engineer" the garden...I find out as much as possible of all the needs of the species from food to nest materials and try to provide it. I would really like to keep up with e-bird better! Finding a new species is so rewarding to us...this work feels more meaningful and something I can do that is good in a world of woes.
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So many good points and ideas in your post, but I particularly like the idea of reverse engineering the yard to attract particular species. We do that for hummingbirds a lot, but now I'm thinking about other species I'd like to see and what they need!
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Oh, I would love to learn how you manage to control the coltsfoot. It blew into my yard from somewhere and boy, what a nightmare. I thought garlic mustard, buckthorn, thistles & bishops weed were bad, but coltsfoot is a whole new level. Any tips would be much appreciated! And your garden looks fabulous!
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Id like to attract Painted Buntings, Orioles, Blue Birds I have areas along my fences that i can add native grasses and plants. I also have an area in middle if yard that is covered in mulch. I can remove some of that for more native plantings
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I garden for us humans and for the birds, insects, and animals. We live in an urban/suburban area in the Mid-Atlantic with lots of concrete, but with back yards, some of which have large trees. So our neighborhood has snakes, squirrels, opossums, groundhogs, foxes and deer that come out from nearby woods, and, of course, birds. I don’t use pesticides, removing some pests manually and letting other insects and birds take care of the others. My garden is the opposite of neat, and very crowded since our yard is small, but by June it is under control and every plant is there because I planted it, or I allowed it to stay. Other than some vegetables, I’ve planted mostly (but not exclusively) natives. There are flowers from very early (crocus, early iris) to very late (New York Ironweed, aster), so there’s always something for the bees. On some of them I leave the seed heads for fall and winter birds to forage. I also leave most of the dead plants as hiding places for birds and insects over the winter, and when I do clear it in the spring I am careful to look for, for example, preying mantis egg sacs, or cocoons, so I don’t throw them away.
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Your yard sounds like heaven to me
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Sounds wonderful to me! I hope you check into the difference between exotic praying mantises and native ones. The big exotic ones will take hummingbirds.
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@MarianWhit Yes, I read that in an article. How do you control them though? Any recommendations? I always worry about placement of hummingbird feeders (no feeders up now though) to avoid branches that come to close to the feeders.
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For years now I have not "cleaned up" the plants, seed heads, etc. in my garden. I leave the seeds and stalks for winter birds. I am really working to improve the food I provide for birds from plants rather than seed and suet feeders.
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I love sitting out on the deck and enjoying the flowers. I have been trying, over the years, to get more hummingbird loving perennials, as that is my favorite bird. I have a Purple Martin house that is occupied by sparrows but they are fun to watch too. I want to try to continue to change the landscape to more of a naturescape without looking overgrown to encourage a larger variety of birds to come visit.
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Hi Cynthia! Sounds nice. Make sure the sparrows you have are not house sparrows. They were an introduced species that outcompetes our natives. If they are house sparrows, reduce the size of the hole so that they cannot get in and re- nest. Smaller birds such as chickadees or wrens will then use the box. (If you live in the North East.) The size of the hole determines a lot!
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@Jenifer Good to know about the size of the holes
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@Jenifer Excellent points!
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If you have room, more trees and shrubs!
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- I don't do much in my outdoor space but watch the birds and enjoy my rose flowers, and breath the fresh air. I enjoy the simple fact that I have an outdoor space with plants. Without the plants, I feel like life would be a lot more drab, boring or depressing so I enjoy that there is space for plants here.
- I want to change the ratio of native to non-native plants in this area. There are hardly any native plants at all, and even I have contributed in planting non-natives simply for the visual value. Now though, I understand the importance of planting natives and hope to spread this idea.
- I have House finches, goldfinches, and Juncos visiting my space most often. At different times of the year I also see White crowned sparrows and Mourning doves. The birds focus most of their attention on my hanging feeders and the lime tree in front of them. The Juncos however prefer to forage on this one open area on the ground as well as the mourning doves.
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I'm going mostly native in my yard, 90%. But I do like roses, so a few roses. I like ferns, so a few ferns and Impatients. II do notice that around my ferns, there isn''t much activity... so looking for native ferns.
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There is nothing wrong with "mixing in the natives"...some make striking visual combinations while fulfilling their roles in the ecology. Also, look for little niches, micro-habitats where, say, a couple of ferns can be tucked in, or a deck where a vine can grow.
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@MarianWhit I read somewhere that about 70% natives to 20-30% non natives is an ideal mix. Keep those roses if you love them and the ferns. But, perhaps there are some native ferns you could add. I read that there are good substitutes for pachysandra - native types of ground cover instead. I just have to find more local green houses that carry some of these plants. I have to spend a fortune on shipping from out of state and never know what shape the plants are going to arrive in.
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In my tiny outdoor space I enjoy seeing American Robins hop, swallows dive, Thrushes sing, and the usually annoying squirrels run around. I still want to make everything squirrel proof, though.
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agree on the squirrels.
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I live in Texas.There are some woods behind my backyard, so many birds come to visit, like cardinals, blue jays, sparrows, carolina wrens, tufted titmouses, carolina chickadees, house finches, American goldfinches, lesser goldfinches, red-bellied woodpeckers, downy woodpeckers, mourning doves, white-winged doves, American robins, ruby-throated hummingbirds, crows, ravens, chimney swifts, purple martins, red-tailed hawks, red-shouldered hawks, Cooper's hawks, black vultures, and cedar waxwings.Other animals include squirrels, raccoons, foxes, lizards, deer, and opposums. I am planning to lessen the amount of lawn we have and add more native plants to my garden and install more bird feeders and houses so a more wide variety of birds come to my backyard.
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This is a great idea! Most people who only have a bird feeder or bird bath are simply borrowing birds from the landscape that supports them. To add back is terrific!
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We are on three-quarters of an acre in Sonoma County, California. As you can see we have a large lawn; we plan to remove a large portion of the lawn and put in native plants and plants that attract birds and butterflies. We will also install a water feature for birds - perhaps a shallow "creek" for bathing and drinking.
We are very interested in what sorts of plants will do well here and will attract birds and butterflies.
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Those are great ideas, and your lawn looks great! Keep up the ideas!
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@Olivia Afre Segui You have such a nice sprawling space to work with! Your options are practically unlimited!!
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Would love to see your finished project! We are in the process of “killing” our lawn and plan to replace with a pollinator/bird border and hard scape. We are on 1 acre in Western Sonoma County, near Graton.
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The Audubon society has a list of plants, by region, that are native and will attract insects (bird food) and birds.
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We are lucky to live on a small lake in Michigan surrounded by about 6 acres of woods. There is about an acre of lawn immediately around the house so our current goal is to transition some of the lawn to native wildflowers. We've decided to start with a teardrop shaped area in the middle of the driveway.
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Wow, an acre, that is a lot! Consider transition zones, as birds love these. So many people have big trees and lawn and nothing else...try a graduated approach with smaller trees, shrubs, then tall perennials and grasses. Also, open native grasslands and meadows are rare...ground nesting birds are in trouble from mechanization (mowing) and the fact that these areas are consumed for agriculture and living space. I am concentrating on these, because I also realize that many invasive plants like these habitats too, so it is a challenge, but very rewarding!
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We have a huge Mountain Ash tree and a smaller cherry tree in the yard that has always attracted a pretty wide range of birds for feeding, but I want to offer them landscaping that will help them shelter here.
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I live in Mexico City at 2700 meters above sea level, where there are still several green areas in the neighborhood and a forest few kilometers away. I have a small garden where I have several plants as ornament and as fruit trees of apple, peach, pear, plum and lemon. With a couple of hummingbird feeders and a water source for the birds to drink and bathe. In my garden, I like to see plants and birds coming in, as well as other animals like butterflies and bees. Several plants produce flowers (such as roses and cactus), fruit trees at the time, and others. I would like to attach plants that attract more variety of birds, such as those insectivorous and granivorous. Birds have an interest in almost all plants (lesser in roses) and in the land, apparently in search of food. Some species often sing (mainly early morning) since the top of the trees, like Hose Finch, American Robin and Curve-billed Thrasher. Occasionally, some have nested, as swallows (Barn Swallow) at the high of a wall and in a flower pot (Inca Dove). The Spring and Summer are the best seasons to see nesting birds. But Autumn and Winter is better for migratory birds as Wilson's Warbler, Townsend's Warbler and Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Just as I want to improve my garden to attract birds, so too do the green areas at my university.
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I live on a lake in South Carolina. I have a stand of pine trees and then mature hardwoods nearer to the water. I enjoy watching the bald eagles across the lake as well as other birds all through out the year. I have a good variety of birds, rabbits, plenty of squirrels, opossum, deer, snakes, and occasional beaver. Although I do have some bees and butterflies from time to time I'd like to see more. Would like to plant more plants to attract the bees and butterflies.
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Hi All, I live in an urban yard in southern Ontario...part of what is called the GTA--or Greater Toronto area. I have been "naturescaping" our yard for many years...though I confess to having a few non-native, invasive plants (Amur Maple, White mulberry) that were planted long before I knew the problem they cause for biodiversity. I have been working at removing and replacing with native species everything from woodland understory plants to a pollinator patch in between my neighbours driveway and mine...this year I rebuilt my small garden pond and worked towards including native marginals and making it urban wildlife friendly --so they can get a drink and get out safely (sloped edge with mini steps). Though I have had nest boxes in my garden for may years-this year I had chickadees nest and successfully fledge their babies! They actually fledged yesterday:) I am hoping to continue to add native plants and look forward to seeing who else may visit the yard...
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Our 1-acre yard is primarily trees in the back and grass in the front. We love watching the birds and squirrels, the occasional deer, fox, raccoon, and opossum. We recently visited a native garden and now wish to replicate some of what we saw. We want to remove the invasive vines and plant shrubs and small trees, and some shade-loving plants in the back. In the front, we have been expanding the beds to reduce the grass. We are planting flowers and other plants that attract butterflies or moths and feed birds in the winter. We are hoping to switch over the lawn to some combination of native flowers or ground covers.
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i have a good sized yard, mostly bare of love. there are 3 beautiful bountiful old growth lilac bushes, a mock orange, tree, lots of pine trees, and a few scattered unorganized plantings. there are always birds. several sparrow and finch varieties, juncos, warblers, mourning doves, blue jays, hummingbirds, starlings, vireos, sap suckers, flickers. there are plentiful bees, some squirrels, a raccoon or two, occasional skunks, bats, butterflies, slugs. we are surrounded by farmed fields which spray pesticides :( i would love to attract corvids. i am in eastern canada and want to do most of the work myself. i am naive and untrained and a fits-and-starts type.
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Wendy, I love your candor, LOL, and saw myself. Do it at your own pace, bit by bit over time...every native plant that gets added is a great thing! Use your winters for learning! I am in Nova Scotia on Cape Breton.
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We are retired and rent out our farmland, but still live on our farm in Alberta. We are surrounded by grain fields which are sprayed several times a year. That is a big concern for us. At least we keep our yard (about 8 acres) pesticide free.
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I'm blessed to live on 6 acres in rural Michigan. There's a large blueberry marsh behind my house, and wild blackcaps and blackberries growing on the property. There are several native forbs that grow naturally in the woodland strip that surrounds our property. I have established one native flower bed in front of my house, one flower bed full of nursery plants and one that is mixed on the side of the house. However, our house was built in the 80's on an old farm field, and then was vacant for 2 years before we bought it. My plan is to harvest seeds from my established native flowers, propagate them, and get some in the cool season grassland that surrounds my house. We are also finally getting to replacing last of the windows along the back and getting the siding up, after which I get to design the backyard. I'm thinking of going with a mix of patio and deck and then want to add a water feature and more natives around it. While I'm fairly knowledgeable in both native plants and birds, I'm hoping to gain some insight on how to incorporate them better in my landscaping. I'm also working on removing the invasive Honeysuckle, Multiflora rose, Autumn Olive, and Buckthorn. I pull as much of the garlic mustard I can each year with the hope of at least slowing its spread and reducing its allelopathic effects.
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If you have a good site, stewarding a native area is (IMHO) more important than trying to create a partial artificial one. Both are good, but areas that are intact are super important.
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Currently I am collecting plants for creating our garden. Inspiration Tuscan style. The space is large enough to create several different outdoor garden rooms. I want to change the fact that currently I do not have a plan and each room is jumbled due to lack of garden plan. Current birds that visit include blue jays, crows, occasional hummingbirds, pigeons, and finches. Birds mostly focus attention along the grass areas and spruce trees and primarily forage for food or nesting material, rest, and preen.
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An Almost Private Moment: This spring brings the third nesting of either House Swallows or Sparrows to an air vent in my 1920's upstairs apartment. As the chics have progressed they've become cheerfully and adamantly present through the wall with their cheeps for more food from the parent team. The parents do access the feeder, but I don't have yummy invertebrates to offer of course. It's a morning game to note who's up first the chics or myself. If I'm up first I do try to not wake them up.
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Do you have a deck or balcony? Some people do wonders with container gardening of native plants. Also, many conservation groups need volunteers and stewards of natural areas, as at this point, the invasive species problem is so big that natural areas don't stat that way without help!
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I live in the Hampton roads area of Virginia. I'm currently going through the process of reorganizing my yard. Well organizing one of the goals is to remove as many invasive species as possible. And replace them with better plants. I'm going to the rule of it has to do more than just be pretty. The plants for replace in the yard get points for what they can do in the yard. Such as does it make a good screen/hedge. Does it make good nesting habitat. Is it a host plant for a butterfly or moth. What type of food does it provide for birds. And on and so forth. I know I will not complete it in a year. But I want to say is a nice long-term goal. In addition besides plants I do plan to include structures for birds and wildlife.
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It is a wonderful hobby, and not something that is done in a year. My great grandmother said "it takes 5 years to build a garden." With a native garden, give yourself 10, lol.
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I live north of Nashville and this spring we designated an area approximately 60'X90' on the downward slope of our property, as a "meadow"........I left whatever was going to grow, grow, without interference or cutting back and planted wildflower seeds, native wildflower bulbs inside the designated "meadow" area. I have also planted butterfly bushes in the grassy area and near the area, we planted mulberry and redbud bare root trees. Also nearby we planted white oak bare root trees. All the trees and shrubs are growing! I still do not have any wildflowers blooming! My husband mowed a swirling path through the middle of what I hope will be the "wildflower meadow" (in a year or 2 or 3??) and I plan to place a small bench there to watch the birds and other pollinators. I have placed a birdbath with solar sprinkler there, near where there is also a small bird feeder. I seem to have lots of birds around my house all the time, even during the winter. There were days in the early spring when the bird calling and bird songs were very, very loud - it seemed they had to compete with the noise of the neighborhood and raised their voices accordingly to be heard over the cars and lawn mowers! We moved to this area a little over a year ago from a ranch located in the-middle-of-nowhere, New Mexico. I can hardly believe how many birds are here in the Nashville area............I LOVE it here
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It sounds lovely! Nice to have lots of birds to begin with. Good luck with your meadow!
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Be sure to recognize plants that can take over. Especially check the "butterfly bush"...if it is Buddleia, as it can create a LOT of backbreaking work for you when you realize they want to rule the world. There are many native species that will also be host to eggs and larvae, which this plant is not.
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I have a beautiful dogwood tree in my front yard that attracts migrating birds in the fall. But, it also attracts lots of starlings who eat more than their share. I have several pines that border my property that are beautiful. Feeder birds use them as a landing to go to and from my bird feeders. I put in a split rail fence on one corner of my property and it provides a beautiful border where I have put in some liatris and lobelias and also some creeping phlox. I would like to continue to develop that area with more plants. I also have a wisteria plant (not sure if native) that drapes across the top of the fence. I put in several small winterberry plants I am hoping will be larger and a larger serviceberry which is gorgeous. I would like to replace the border in the back of my yard that has burning bushes -enormous ones- that I unfortunately inherited from previous owners. They form a great barrier to not see neighbors in the back yard, so I would like to replace with natives that will grow large as well as some flowering fruit trees. Any recommendations - I live in Connecticut - would be great. I started by purchasing two elderberry bushes, but this task is overwhelming and expensive, so I am starting small.
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Evergreens on the burning bush replacement. Is Arborvitae native there? On fruit trees, high bush blueberry, crab apple, and hawthorne.
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I want less concrete, less grass, and more native plants to create a small ecosystem in my yard. I have seen how birds are immediately attracted to any new native I bring home. It is like love at first sight. And pollinators favor natives as well.
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LOL I know! I try to grow natives from seed, and the wildlife are like, "oooh, CANDY!" So we are building enclosures, which seems counter productive, but need the natives to be able to reproduce to restore habitat!
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We recently moved in to our house in Southwestern NY (Orange County) this past August. Having never owned my own home before, my prior gardening experience is limited to container gardens on condo porches. This spring, I have created two new small garden beds and have tended to the large bed in the front of the house and the medium size beds that are next to our shed. I have, somewhat regretfully, supplemented the plants that were already there when we bought the house with other beautiful perennials that are not native. We have plenty of space to do some nature-scapung, but the place I'd most like to start is an area where an above ground pool was taken down prior to us buying the house. It is about 12 feet in diameter, flat, and has a bed of solid sand. I hope to build this area up with fresh dirt, and plant plenty of flowers that are attractive to both birds and pollinators.
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We live in NY (not far from Cornell) on about 3 acres. Most of it was just lawn when we bought the house 3 years ago. So far we have installed a native plant garden, a number of fruit trees, evergreen trees, and shrubs, a sunflower patch along our fence, two raised beds for vegetables, another raised bed for flowering bulb plants, and most recently (this year) a pollinator garden. One benefit to native plants that I didn't even realize when I planted them is the overall hardiness of the plants. NY has long, cold, winters, and some of the non-native plants (even if planted in a zone they technically tolerate) have struggled. All of the native plants have thrived. It makes gardening easier and cheaper (not having to buy replacement plants frequently). I am enjoying our bird visitors more and more, and I'm hoping to get a few tips on making our property even more bird-friendly.
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I wasn't sure how to include text about an image. The image above is the goldenrod meadow I referred to in my earlier post. The goldenrod is exuberant and seems to dominate other plants. I am interested in adding a little more diversity to this area with plants that can hopefully coexist with the goldenrod.
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@Lyell I'm just wondering, do birds use/eat the Goldenrod?
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@Stacey There are several birds that will eat the Goldenrod seeds (Goldfinch, Chickadees, some sparrows, et. al.). Goldenrod also attracts several insect species which makes them beneficial to insectivores.
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@Stacey @Stacey apologies for the late reply. I do occasionally see birds eating the goldenrod seed, but I would say the most activity I see on a plant in our habitat is goldfinches eating Oenothera biennis (Evening Primrose). This plant is a volunteer to the garden. It is tall (around 4 feet), and often there will be 2-3 birds per stalk. I was happy that the goldenrod was volunteering because they are supposed to be great hosts for many caterpillar species which are important food for baby birds. However I don't often see caterpillars on the goldenrod. Maybe the birds are getting them before I see them!
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@Lyell Purple Astor? Adds a pop
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@Sue @Sue Purple Aster with the goldenrod would be beautiful. I had some Aster laevis (a beautiful purple color) in the meadow but it seemed very tasty to rabbits (I believe) and they are all gone now.
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@Lyell Joe Pye, Tall White Aster, Pearly Everlastings, tall native grasses, wild roses, etc. Think about early bloomers like raspberry, wild strawberry, and blue eyed grass in the spring. A backdrop of one or both bays (Myrica sp.).
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@MarianWhit Thank you @MarianWhit, I do have some Joe Pie weed. I do have to make sure I edit the goldenrod around them so they don't get overwhelmed by it. The small patch is doing well this year. I like the idea of a backdrop. I have one blueberry in the back (out of the picture) that is doing well. Also a Beach Plumb (Prunus maritima) on the right in the photo. I have recently learned that Canada Goldenrod can be particularly vigorous and that thinning that species may help other plants thrive. I will put all of your suggestions on a list to add!
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We are located west of Boston, Massachusetts. Over the years, I have added more and more native plants. In the back yard, we removed an in-ground pool. Despite ideas to plan a garden, nature took its course, and the area is now mostly filled with 5 species of volunteer goldenrod plants and a few asters. I have added a few shrubs along the way. Grape and Blackberry bushes have also volunteered. This area is filled with many species of dragonflies, wasps and other insects in the summer and fall. I have also gotten rid of most of the grass in the front yard after observing that I was sadly killing moths and caterpillars as I mowed. One thing I am interested in exploring is adding some more diversity to the goldenrod area. The goldenrod seems to be very robust and will take over everywhere if I do not edit them a bit around other plants like Monarda and Joe Pye Weed.
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I have a small area on the side of the house which the deck and the bedroom windows overlook. The sounds of the birds create a natural alarm to wake up. I have several feeders and a raised vegetable bed already on that side, I want to create a space for birds and pollinators using native plants. Living on a east coast bay, I would like to provide for more migrants and take the opportunity to expand my neighborhood's use of native landscaping. I am looking forward to sitting on my deck listening and watching.
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Our yard is a bit of a mess right now trying to establish wildflowers and a natural feel. My wife has objected to mowing in the past not wanting to disturb any wildflowers from getting established. We use about 400=500 sqauare feet for vegetable gardening. Our front yard we use as a birding garden with several bird feeders and a small bird bath. Although a nice ground cover has been established it also could use a good weeding. My energy is a little dissapated by the aging process and I'm spending several hours a day establishing the vegetable garden. We have some hummingbird feeders but havent attracted many this year. My vision for the birding garden is to add a few nectar bearing flowers perhaps in containers to further attract hummers.
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Depending on where you are, I can recommend Lobelia cardinals (Cardinal Flower) for hummingbirds. I live in Massachusetts, and these flowers have attracted hummingbirds every year. They like a moist sunny spot and in a good year can have foot long flower spikes filled with tube like red flowers for humming birds.
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Lonicera sempervirens work well also for hummingbirds. I have them and Cardinal flowers and wild bergamot (monarda). I live in NJ and the hummers use all three and saucer type feeders.
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I have a raised bed garden that is a mix of vegetables and flowers and a greenhouse. We have a lot of bird activity at our backyard feeders and have had success with our solitary bee hotel. I want to replace our grass front yard with a perrenial garden of native plants to attract more birds and butterflies.
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I am in the process of replacing our front yard grass. I have replaced at least 80 percent of the front yard so far. To keep the soil life and structure intact, I used a technique called sheet mulching. In the fall I laid down cardboard (from large boxes) on the grass and spread about 4-5 inches of much on top of it. It has worked very well. An occasional blade of grass will pop up through a crack but is easy to remove. I am still trying to formulate a plan for planting, but the native plants I already had in several islands are helping out by advancing into the mulched area: Carex pensylvanica (Pennsylvania Sedge), Whorled Loosestrife (NOT the invasive plant), Anemone canadensis and blue-stemmed goldenrod (Solidago caesia)
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My family and I enjoy our backyard immensely. Our newly replaced deck was designed with our fruit trees and bird feeders in mind, and we now have year round views of the many birds that visit us and live in our yard. My husband loves the lawn, but has been tolerant of my aversion to chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and to my encroachment with vegetable and native plant gardens. Our yard abuts a wild area that separates our yard from a golf course, full of wild life, and not far from a small river. Last year’s overwhelming gypsy moth caterpillar invasion was a challenge, but we are learning about the life cycle of these “new” neighbours and trying to learn how to protect our trees and our pollinators, as well as the birds that live with us. Interestingly, my husband is frightened for our trees’ foliage; and our 3.5 year old grand daughter was So Excited to share her swing set with nature that she ran to get me, and show me how the caterpillars were everywhere, even on the slide! There is no accounting for a love of nature... I am really enjoying the Cornell Lab’s bird courses, and getting to know the birds in my yard better. I look forward to learning more about attracting and supporting birds, butterflies, and other pollinators around us.
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We have numerous birdhouses and hummingbird feeders, but I want to add additional natural sources for food and shelter.
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With our close friends who live in Switzerland, we built a small energy-efficient “second” home on the border of evergreen forest and meadow in the mountains above Ashland OR. It was mostly finished when we moved in late March 2020, to reduce our Covid-19 risk (we share our house in Oakland CA with an essential worker). We have lived here full time for over a year enjoying the birds, including dark-eyed junco, pine siskin, vesper sparrow, flicker, Stellar’s jay, Western bluebird, red tailed hawk, spotted towhee, green-tailed towhee, pileated woodpecker, red-breasted sapsucker, and mountain chickadee. To our great delight, last year we observed a pair sandhill crane raise two young and a pair of great gray owls raise three young. We have also regularly heard the Wilson’s snipe give it winnowing flight call as it flies above the meadow after dusk and in the early dawn. We want to add native plants that are good habitat for the birds, as we landscape the extensive slope below our flagstone patio. We are at 4600 ft. elevation, in planting zone 7, and need to plant species that are fire resistant because the danger of wildfire is substantial. The meadow has a diverse mix of grasses and wildflowers, which we hope will repopulate the disturbed soil of the slope below the house. That process has started, but we also want to add bushes and ground cover that will provide good habitat for birds. The meadow includes some serviceberry bushes and a few ponderosa pines, which the birds use and which provide us with great viewing opportunities. I created a small vegetable garden last year and will be expanding it this year. Last fall I planted seven blueberry bushes and this spring I planted three more. They are doing well so far, in spite of the snow and frost we had as recently as last week. The silverberry bushes and coffee berry bushes I planted last fall suffered quite a bit, but survived the winter. Only two of the three Oregon grape plants survived. Our friends, who co-own the house with us, are finally able to join us here and will be arriving next week. So it is time for us to jointly make decisions on plants and get them planted. I look forward to learning from the course and from this group!
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I currently have a blank slate to work with. I want to use native plants to attract the most wildlife possible. I plan on adding a vegetable garden, greenhouse, shed, sitting areas, trees, planting beds, rain garden.
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I just bought a small cottage in Mount Shasta, Ca. The yard has been neglected for years. Both sides of the yard have mature lilacs and there are some plantings and lawn, but I'm basically going to be starting from scratch. I want to make my small yard into a place to relax and meditate and attract different bird species...So far, I've seen alot of jays and ravens but not alot of other species.
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My wife and I regularly see northern mockingbirds, ruby-throated hummingbirds, goldfinches, cardinals, bluebirds, and some not so common birds to our area (yellow bellied sapsucker, pileated woodpeckers). The flowers/tree we have in our yard are rose, Zagreb, black-eyed Susan, hydrangea, and a mature Elm tree.
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I enjoy my large backyard space with a large oak tree, backing up to a horse farm. I have made a butterfly garden. I’d like to learn what to plant to attract more Michigan birds. I currently have feeders that attract gold finches, house finches, tufted titmouse, nuthatch, cardinal, red breasted grosbeak, red bellied woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, as well as sparrows and grackles, a pair of mourning doves, baltimore Orioles and hummingbirds (I can’t identify which ones.). I’m hoping to learn how to attract indigo bunting and bluebirds.
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we plan to reduce the mowing area of our outdoor space, incorporate more natives, and expand our backyard woods. And we're trying to reduce eliminate if not eliminate some of the invasive species like multiflora rose, honeysuckle, and oriental bittersweet.
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Almost 6 years ago, we moved to the outskirts of a metropolitan area. What attracted us was not the house, but the property. The house sits on a small mound above a flood plain dotted with groves of locust trees. Woods were further back. As we looked at the house, deer were foraging along the tree line. We enjoy watching nature pass in the peaceful, tranquil surroundings. We added a gravel patio w/ fire pit to compliment the overlooking deck, and have talked of adding a third sitting area beneath the apple trees. (the views for each area are different.). The landscaping was overgrown. But what to do with the yard? I casually thought of adding some native plants, so I stopped by a local nursery specializing in natives grown from seeds collected locally. I was hooked by the proprietor's passion. I now have four beds with native plants and try to select species listed on the state's rare species list. Watching the birds forage and butterflies flit among the plants is fascinating. Once, when I was outside, a bright orange bird flew by. An oriole. Jelly feeders have attracted more orioles with each passing year. But that can't be healthy. I have recently planted serviceberries for them and other birds. Other additions included wild black cherry, hackberry, mulberry, hazelnuts, elderberries, and paw paws.
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In my outdoor space I walk around at different times during the day and enjoy the various planting beds. I weed and mulch the beds. I grow various vegetables, flowers. and herbs in raised beds. During warm weather months, I sit and enjoy the area and listen to the birds. In colder months, I watch activity in feeders. I especially enjoy the different colors throughout the year. I hope to expand the planting beds and add more bird-friendly plantings.
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Good day to all. My back yard is a space where: 1. I grow some fruits and vegetables for consumption in raised beds that I made in 2017; 2. I grow bird/insect friendly (mostly) native plants; 3. I have my Project Feeder Watch (PFW) site located; 4. I have an approximate 50 gallon above ground three-season "pond" where I keep three goldfish and some aquatic plants. I planned and placed my "pond" in the spring of 2019; and 5. My wife, the family dog Blue and I enjoy the small, occasional summer's night fire. I live in Kingston, Ontario which is located on the north-east corner of Lake Ontario/mouth of the St. Lawrence River/Seaway. I do greatly enjoy my yard and continually make small landscaping changes/alterations in order to continue in making my yard more attractive to the natural world, be it birds, insects, (small) mammals and even people!
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my current garden 
are attracting a good amount of birds but there is no habitat for them to "hang" out so I feed them and they hang out in the established yards behind me.
I need evergreens along the back fence to hide the behind neighbors, some terracing perhaps and plants and shrubs suitable for a small hillside.
I am pretty much starting from scratch. In winter our lawns go dormant. Sorry for the messy picture, we just had a wind storm and my dogs agility equipment and bird feeding items went on a walk about. 
thx. bjorn k. 
We have a small property in Eastern PA. Whether I realized it or not, it was the landscaping that sold me on the home when we bought it. However, I had no experience in gardening - just a love of beautiful flowers and birds inherited from my mom and the beautiful Central VA area when I grew up. Over the years I’ve grown to appreciate the value of natives and less lawn. All the stories here are so inspiring!! We added a small pond to our backyard a couple of years ago and the birds are over the moon with it. Love the little frogs that call it home too. 
I live near Georgian Bay in Ontario Canada. We have large gardens and lots of birds. I want to plant more native species that support bug and bird life. This will likely mean swapping out some of our plantings.
I just love birds when they come to visit our garden and have a sip of water.Currently we have three nests each made by different species of birds: i)Scaly breasted Munia ii)little Spiderhunter iii)Common Tailor bird . I am very happy that our garden turned out to be great for our little feathered friends . 
My front and backyard are huge, with little area that supports gardening. The area is heavily wooded, and the soil quality is not great. I do have several areas that support some gardening, almost like gardening zones. We moved here five years ago, and I am reading more and more about woodland gardening! I have been a bird feeder for over 30 years, and a gardener at least that long. For most of that time, I saw those activities are parallel, not intersecting. I have many birds visiting. The pileated woodpeckers and Stellar's jays are probably my favorites. I have lived in NJ and WA where the American Goldfinch is the state birds. I never saw one until I moved to WA, and I have dozens visiting! I feed hummingbirds year round. As I inventory my bird tools, I have: 2 seed feeders, 2 suet feeders, 3 hummingbird feeders, and 3 birdbaths. Two of the birdbaths have solar features, but my hummingbirds love to fly and linger in the hose spray when I am watering the garden!
I started thinking more about gardening for birds after the pine siskin finch swarming this winter. My area of WA State experienced extreme swarming behavior including the spread of salmonella and the death of hundreds of birds. I had never seen anything like it before, and I brought my feeders in for more than three months. I am focusing now on gardening for birds with a goal of reducing my feeder use and the risk of swarming behavior and disease spread. While the experts say that is a cyclical behavior, I do hope I don't see it again. I would like to offer more native plants and natural food for my bird visitors. I know I will also need to improve the soil in my yard to support more gardening. 
I love to garden and enjoy the many birds we see in our yard. I have chosen plants I like. Now I want to learn about what native plants are best for the birds. I am willing to remove plants that don’t benefit the birds and bugs and substitute native ones. I don’t use any chemicals in my yard. Many birds enjoy our pond. We keep a small section of it open in the winter too using a heater to melt the ice, and put up bird feeders. I would love to attract a wider variety of birds all year long. I like to tidy up the garden now and then, and at the end of the growing season. I’ll have to work on changing that habit too! I live in Massachusetts. 
I host two 24/7 live bird and garden cams on YouTube (www.YouTube.com/c/kenlittle) and am gradually building out a garden and attempting to create an environment that provides more of what birds need, including flowers, insects, trees, cover, nesting boxes and food. Feeders are just a complement to the natural environment, as three seasons of the year birds for the most part feed on seeds, fruits, nuts and other insects in the area. My goal is to create an environment where they won’t have to leave to get what they need. I’m also gradually trying to build out a website (https://www.kenlittleblog.com) where I continue to add helpful information for subscribers seeking to attract birds to their yards. 
This was a 10 year project to return this little creek to its natural state...there were no trees, and invasive buttercup, moneywort, coltsfoot, and forget-me-nots all along its bank. We brought in ferns, wild strawberry dogwood shrubs, ash, willows, and many other native plants. We still have to clear the above invasives at least once a year, since we never seem to get them all. Our "coffee porch" overlooks this area, and we have photographed many, many birds that never come to feeders as well as the feeder birds all naturally doing what they are supposed to do. We put out one cup of black oil a day, only when bone dry, and in different locations and put the savings into restoring habitat...bird seed is a tiny part of what birds need! I was a garden designer, and kind of made the connection with using native plants over time. My property is STUFFED with plants, many exotic. Keeping after the invasives, and trying to convert the lawn into a functioning native grassland are the current projects. The lawn is the largest area right around the house, so the non-natives will remain until there is no more room to add natives and/or until I can find someone with muscle, as I am not very strong any more...I want to encourage everyone to think about their garden legacy...if you plant native plants and trees, it will not be a negative one. I visit gardens of older gardens, and they are a scary mess of exotic invasives that they thought they could control. As I get older I am planting more trees and shrubs that I can enjoy with less work.
We totally love all the cool new insects and our many species of warblers. I have to say I would love a redstart (a tall order, I know)...so one thing I do is "reverse engineer" the garden...I find out as much as possible of all the needs of the species from food to nest materials and try to provide it. I would really like to keep up with e-bird better! Finding a new species is so rewarding to us...this work feels more meaningful and something I can do that is good in a world of woes. 
We are on three-quarters of an acre in Sonoma County, California. As you can see we have a large lawn; we plan to remove a large portion of the lawn and put in native plants and plants that attract birds and butterflies. We will also install a water feature for birds - perhaps a shallow "creek" for bathing and drinking.
We are very interested in what sorts of plants will do well here and will attract birds and butterflies. 
