Attracting Songbirds

[fishinchicks]

I have an area that I want to put a flower garden in on the east side of my house. Does anyone have any tips for plantings that would attract songbirds?

[Royce Aardahl]

Not to be funny but I would plant a pole and use a feeder and use a wild bird seed mixture. Build it and they will come.

[JayinMN]

Birds will eat the seeds of purple cone flowers and black-eyed susans so I would include them. Sunflowers will certainly attract birds and are easy to grow. Bushes would be more attractive then flowers though and if you could incorporate a viburnum, dogwood, cranberries or other berry producing bushes into the garden you will really hit the jackpot. One important element of a bird garden is a bird bath, make sure it is shallow enough for the birds to wade into. Bird feeders are great but they only attract certain birds, by planting a garden and providing water you can attract birds that normally wouldn't be attracted to your yard. A dead snag that sits higher then the flowers is a popular piece of birds reality too.

[fishinchicks]

Thanks JayinMN. That is what I was looking for. I figured it would be important to include shrubs as well, but I wasn't sure what type would be the best. I was planning on a combination of flowers and shrubs, with a feeder off to one side, near some existing lilacs.

Again, thanks!

[Steve Foss]

chicks, I'm not a great fan of pointing people in directions off this site, but the Minnesota Extension Service site has a great deal of information about plantings that attract birds, and while I've been a birder and a onetime landscaper spanning more than 30 years, the topic is exhaustive.

[fishinchicks]

I checked out the Extension Service HSOforum first. After they upgraded their site, some things seem more difficult to find.

I do have a lot of books on the subject, but they are boxed up in our storage shed while we are doing yet more work on our house. I figured it would be easier to ask on here than go dig out my books.