by BA Nester

As the Winter days are changing into Spring days, I am planning my backyard garden.  I remember as a kid, when warmer March days came on, we would walk around the house and look for those first tulip and crocus heads poking through the snow!  Mom had long ago planted Lilies of the Valley against the foundation of the north side of the house and they were always the precursors to the riot of color that came from the irises and tulips when they were in full bloom!  I’ve been cruising through the birding and gardening magazines reading all the articles about what to plant to attract bees, butterflies and birds and I want to plant them all!  I remind myself that not every plant grows in every climate.  So, I check out the planting (or hardiness) zones.  I love the Old Farmer’s Almanac and have relied on it for decades, whether we lived in the upper Midwest, the Northwest or FL!  Here’s their Hardiness Zone map:

Ok, so now that I know my zone, I can decide what I want to add to my existing gardens OR what do I want to add as container plants that will attract the birds.  I have a well-established bed of blue Lilies of the Nile!  Oh my!  The hummingbirds, butterflies and bees all love them!  I even had a hummingbird moth sipping nectar from them last summer!  We have an established yard and have planted for the birds over the years.  We have oaks that are great for nesting and they function as a food source, not only with their acorns, but they also attract bugs, so that attracts the insect-eating birds!  And we have lots of pines which also are great for nesting and their pinecones produce seeds for the birds (and the squirrels … grrrrr).  There is a wooded area across the pond from the back of our house which has a lot of holly trees/bushes which we keep an eye on during migration … Cedar Waxwings come flying in huge groups and attack the hollies and the cedar trees over there!  So beautiful!!!

This year I have been looking at adding a Mulberry bush, a Crabapple tree or maybe a Citrus tree with their incredibly fragrant blossoms!  I researched whether they can be grown in containers and they can, if you use a large enough container!  What I remember about mulberry and crabapple is they are messy!  So, I will have to determine where to plant to make the least amount of mess in a walking area. Think I’m leaning toward CITRUS!

So, one new tree and then my favorite, the flowers!  I know the honeysuckles, sages and bee balm with their tubular shapes attract the hummers, but I already have my Lilies of the Nile bed and my hummingbird feeders, so maybe I will concentrate on planting seed-bearing flowers to attract the songbirds this year!  There are so many seed-bearing flowers which we are familiar with:  Sunflowers and coneflowers, asters, daisies, poppies and zinnias, hibiscus and cosmos, bright marigolds and beautiful black-eyed Susans!  Make sure you check with your county ag agent or check your local university’s gardening information online, they will recommend native plants, too.  Read the information and plant the tall growers in the back of your flowerbed and the low ones in the front!  And most of all, REMEMBER, NO DEAD-HEADING because it’s the dried flowers that provide the seeds which the birds love!!!  Also don’t forget, no spraying with insecticides!!! No. 1- we want the insects, No.2 – we don’t want to hurt our birds!

I’m more excited than ever now!  I have the perfect spot to plant some Purple Fountain grass (another seed-bearer), I think I’ll do Cosmos again this year and some Coneflowers with some low-growing zinnias in the front for a splash of color!  I can’t wait for everything to bloom and feed my birds!