Creating a Bird Friendly Garden

• Posted on 11 August 2024
• By Bobbi Wright
• Posted in bee, bees, bird friendly garden, garden, hummingbird, native plants, pollinator friendly
• 0

What to look for in a garden that will inspire pollinators and birds to make your yard their space.

I don’t think my husband is ever so proud as when he is puttering outside in the gardens that grace the house that holds the store and our home here in Brighton. He gets quite a lot of compliments from customers and passersby that he is quite happy to share with me. He is the official gardener between the two of us - I love flowers, and I love our garden, but I’m more the visionary, and he’s the doer.

To create visibility, and to lessen the yearly maintenance load, we took down about 8 Chinese Elms at the front corner of the property in January. Oh the flack this raised on social media, was nuts! I get where people are coming from - Save the Trees! - but the reality of these trees in that they are non-native, invasive, and a giant PITA to maintain. Even after cutting them down the stumps and logs throw off live growth. I was stunned at seeing green life coming from the logs! Kudos to it for trying to cling to life, but seriously these trees throw off some you can't kill me vibes, I'm happy to challenge myself with. Other than shelter for some squirrels.

In recent years it has become clearer that the more natural we leave our gardens and the more native plants we host inside those gardens, the better it is for the critters that also like to call our plots of greens cape home. Each critter, be it bug or bird has certain plants and trees that it prefers within the ecosystem to provide, shade, shelter, food etc. Certain trees attract certain bugs, which in turn will attract certain birds to the space. And another bonus to native plants - they have adapted over many years to work in our climate. So they will need less care, and usually less water to maintain. The best house guests are the ones that don't need much work. Native plants are the same.

Typically people who feed birds, feed a seed mix like our Right Stuff which is a fantastic way to see the birds, but it is often misunderstood, how many more species might show up if the plants in the garden host insects that the insectivore birds enjoy. Warblers come to mind specifically. Typically not seed eaters (there are a few exceptions!), warblers enjoy insects throughout a tree canopy. They may also come to a suet feeder during migration when insects might be a little more sparse to reenergize, so consider a suet with mealworms as an added support.

I often get asked why people aren’t seeing hummingbirds in their space and then they might casually mention that they had their yard sprayed for mosquitos so they could sit outside without being viewed as juicy steak by the mozzies. Essentially what has happened is that they’ve effectively wiped out the hummingbirds groceries in doing so. Especially during nesting. Nesting demands higher protein content in their diet and insects like mosquitos and fruit flies provide this protein. Unfortunately too, these insecticidal sprays are not that selective. They are going to kill the insect population at large where it is sprayed. Which means hummingbirds, warblers, orioles, and more are going to look elsewhere for their protein content. 

We do carry a butterfly feeder that feeds nectar and has space to put chunks of banana’s on to rot for the butterflies. (I know, just a little gross but butterflies are a little macabre really!) But it would also cause fruit flies to hover around it which has potential to attract and feed the hummingbirds a source of protein with the fruit flies as well. So it’s a double duty feeder.

I love roses. I just adore the way they look and I search out ones that smell heavenly. But most roses are not native to Ontario, and I’m pretty sure the only insects they support are the dreaded Japanese Beetles (non-native bug from Japan discovered in New Jersey in 1916, and then in Nova Scotia, Canada in 1939 in a tourists car that came by ferry from Maine). So I’ve been making a conscious choice to plant native plants and wildflowers in amongst everything. It’s a slow process dictated by budget but we will get there. In the summer of 2021, I planted a beautiful trumpet vine, and it’s only just been this summer that I’ve seen a good amount of flowers on it. It's pictured above after a few weeks of flowering. I know its a favourite of hummingbirds and I am waiting for them to find it. 

I also have phlox, purple coneflower, bee balm, yarrow, cardinal flower and a few others whose names are escaping me at the moment. We also removed some shrubs that had outlived their looks and usefulness and replaced them with serviceberry bushes and honey berry bushes. These should be some serious attention grabbers for the birds when they start to deliver fruit. I’m hoping to be able to partake as well of at least honey berry, but we’ll see if they share.

If you go to ParkPlace here in Brighton by Presqu'ile and grab an ice cream, be sure to check out the amazing display of Bee Balm they have in their back area behind the trailers to entice birds and insects for people to watch while they eat their treats. It's really a beautiful space.

I have to hold back Andrew from cutting the grass too early in May. And I prefer to leave the leaves in the fall for the same reason, as this is where fireflies overwinter. I adore fireflies! Fireflies camp out in pine trees during the day, and their needles are an ideal spot for firefly larvae. Don’t cut your lawn too short - longer grass is attractive to fireflies. A moving water feature is also attractive to them as well. I’m happy to say that our occasional campfire in the backyard is happily attended by a plethora of fireflies that dance around us while we enjoy some s’mores! And we are right downtown Brighton ON! They aren't just a rural pleasure. They take me back to some great childhood memories. Who of us didn't think they were really fairies that didn't know they were being watched?

The long and the short of it is this. The more natural you maintain your yard, avoiding pesticides and planting native shrubs, trees and flowers, the healthier your natural "grocery store" will be for the insects (including bees, dragonflies, moths and butterflies), and then in turn, the birds. Visit your local native plant greenhouse and see what they have store. The closest native nursery to us here in Brighton is Natural Themes Native Plants Nursery in Frankford. But there's another slightly further afield, Drop Seed Native Plant Nursery in Prince Edward County. And our other local plant nurseries also offer a small selection of native plants, so it's always worth a stop in to see what they've got. Happy backyard birding and gardening!