Perennials
Perennials
There
is also a wide variety of perenials that will attract birds to your yard.
Perennials are also the backbone of a garden, returning year after year
to provide colorful flowers, attractive foliage, and dinner for the birds.
Some perennials provide tasty seeds, others provide nectar for hummingbirds.
Perennials can also provide excellant cover so birds can move safely through
the garden. The foliage of a perennial will also holds a variety
of tasty goodies like insects, caterpillars, slugs, and snails.
At the end of the season, and 'untidy' perennial garden that's not
snipped down is inviting to birds which will feel protected among the plants.
The birds will also gleen seeds along with insects, insect eggs, and larvae
that are over-wintering on the dried foliage.
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(Coreopsis lanceolata and other perennial spp.) |
Flower attract butterfies, which attract spiders and other insects eaten by many birds. Sparrows and finches eat the seeds | Mound of lance-shaped or feathery-looking leaves topped by daisy-shaped gold flowers; species and cultivars range from 1' to 3' tall | Grow in full sun, in average to rich, well-drained soil. Drought-tolerant. Zones 3 to 10 |
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(Solidago spp.) |
Seeds attract sparrows; chickadees and other birds forage for insects on flowers and stems | Clumps of leafy stems topped by plumes of tiny golden flowers from midsummer to fall; 18" to 6' tall, depending on species | Grow in full sun in average, well-drained soil. Zones 3 to 10 |
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(Agastache foeniculum) |
Flowers attract bees and hummingbirds; finches and sparrows eat the seeds | Scalloped, gray-green leaves topped by branching spike of tine blue-purple flowers; 2' to 3' tall, plant smells like licorice | Grow in full sun, in average to poor, well-drained soil. Zones 3 to 8 |
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(Agastache nepetoides) |
Flowers attract hummingbirds; finches, buntings, and sparros eat the seeds; in winter, downy woodpeckerss, checkadees, titmice, and yellow-rumped warblers eat insects and larvae overwintering in the stems | Beautiful vertical plant with stout, erect stems topped with branched spikes of tine, green-yellow flowers | Grow in shade to part sun in soil rich in organic matter; also grows in clay; Zones 3 to 8 |
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(Verbascum thapsus and other spp.) |
Goldfinches and other small birds eat seeds; in winter, downy woodpeckers, chickadees, titmice, yellow-rumped warblers, bluebirds, and others eat insects and larve overwintering in seedhead stalks | Gray, fuzzy leaves grow in a ground-covering clump, from which rises a 3' to 6' tall spire covered in tiny, yellow or white blossoms |
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(Phlox paniculata, P.maculata) |
Flowers attract butterflies, which attract spiders and other insects, which are eaten by many birds. Nesting site for sparrows and buntings | Strong clumps of foliage topped with showy flat-topped or domed clusters of fragrant flowers in pink, rose, lavendar, or white flowers; they often have a contrasting-colored center; 3' to 4' tall | Grow in full sun, in average to fertile, well-drained soil. Zones 4 to 8 |
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(Polygonum spp.) |
Finches, sparrow, and other small birds eat oil-rich seeds | Long-blooming spikes of pink or rosy red flowers top clumps of smooth foliage, which may turn red in fall. Various species range from a few inches to 6' tall | Grow in partial light shade, in moist soil rich in organic matter. Zones 3 to 8 |
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(kniphofia hybrid) |
Their flowers, beloved by hummingbirds, are long lasting, both in gardens and in bouquets. | The blossoms of red-hot pokers are unusual12-inch lance-shaped spikes made up of 1 1/2- to 2-inch tubular flowers. In the original species the flowers were yellow at the bottom, shading upward to the fiery red tips from which the plant derives its name. Modern hybrids, however, are available in many colors from pure white through delicate shades of yellow to rosy red. Some bloom from early summer into fall. Most varieties grow 2 to 2 1/2 feet tall, although some may reach 6 feet. Their long narrow leaves resemble coarse grass. | These unusual flowers are heat and drought resistant. A new hybrid variety is hardy to Zone 5, but most are hardy in Zones 6 to 10. Plant in full sun in well drained soil. |
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(Aquilegia spp.) |
Hummingbirds are frequently visitors to columbines, seeking nectar in the spurs | Columbines blossom in mid- and late spring, bearing their airy,
distinctive flowers high above clumps of deeply lobed dark green or blue-green
leaves. Blossoms are 1 1/2 to 4 inches across; their colors, mostly pastel,
include many tones of red,
pink, yellow, blue and lavender as well as white. The flowers usually are made up of five petallike sepals set on top of the petals, which may be the same or a different color. The back of each true petal is elongated into a peculiar appendage called a spur, which varies in length from 1/2 inch to as much as 6 inches. |
Columbines do well in Zones 3-10 except in Florida and along the Gulf Coast. They grow best in moist but well-drained soil in very light shade, but will tolerate full sun except in hot dry areas. |
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(Zauschneria californica) |
Hummingbirds | Although Zauschneria was named for an 18th Century Czech naturalist,
J. P. J. Zauschner, this tender perennial is a native American wildflower.
It grows on the dry slopes of the Pacific Coast Range from Oregon south
to Mexico. It is a small, somewhat sprawling woolly-leaved plant, usually
about 1 foot in height, rarely taller
than 2 1/2 feet. The tubular flowers, 1 to 1 1/2 inches long, cluster loosely at the top of the stem and are usually pollinated by hummingbirds attracted by their red color. The plant blooms in late summer. |
California fuchsia needs a Semiarid Grassland or Western Coniferous Woodland environment. It does best in full sun and a spot sheltered from winter winds. A dry, sandy soil with a pH of 7.0 to 8.0 is essential. Water standing on the plant's roots is fatal, so it seldom survives damp eastern winters. Propagate from seed, from root divisions or from stem cuttings. Sow seeds in the spring, transplanting seedlings to stand 2 to 3 feet apart to allow for their spreading growth. Keep soil moist until seeds germinate. Divide roots in the spring, while the plant is still dormant. Take stem cuttings in the fall and keep them over the winter in a cold frame in Zones 5 and 6, to be transplanted into the garden the following spring. |
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(Monarda didyma) |
Bee balms are favorites of bees and attract
hummingbirds. |
Bee balms, whose foliage has a delightful mint fragrance, bear slender
tubular flowers in 2" to 3" circular whorls from early to misdummer and
sometimes later. The plants, up to 3' tall, have rough hairy leaves. The
easy-to-grow varieties include 'Adam', bright red; 'Cambridge Scarlet',
crimson; 'Croftway Pink', rose pink; and 'Mahogany', dark red.
These species are members of the mint family and have fragrant leaves. |
Bee balms grow in Zones 4-10 except in Florida and along the
Gulf Coast, in full sun or light shade; they do best in moist soil that
has been well supplemented with organic material such as peat moss or leaf
mold.
Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), which is atype of bee balm,
has lilac or sometimes white blossoms of a similar size, grows in dry fields
and along roads throughout the United States and southern Canada.
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(Lobelia cardinalis) |
Hummingbirds | These perennials have stiff stems and thin, serrated leaves 2 to 4 inches long. Their flower spikes carry tiny tubular flowers with five lobes each: the two top lobes flare outward like rabbit ears, while the bottom three lobes resemble a hanging lip. Cardinal flower produces 2-inch-long red blooms and grows 2 to 4 feet tall. | Grow in Zones 3-9 in full sun or open shade. They do best in a wet,
humus-rich soil. Blooms from late summer to fall.
It grows naturally in marshy ground and are especially useful for banks of brooks and streams; cardinal flower will even hold fast in running water. |
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