Seeing a flock of our feathered friends in the landscape can happen by luck. Or, with proper planning they can be drawn to your yard for enjoyment. Birds, like all living organisms, need the basics for life - food, water and shelter. These are easy to provide with a little planning.

Food - Can be provided by either stocking bird feeders or planting a variety of trees and shrubs, which provide seeds or berries. These plants can be added to the landscape not only as a food source, but also to enhance the overall quality of the landscape. Proper planning will aid in the selection of plants that can serve multiple purposes in the landscape.

• Trees - Crabapple, redbud, plums and serviceberry
• Shrubs - Barberry, holly, viburnums, beautyberry.
• Perennials - Agastache, echinacea, solidago, gaillardia, rudbeckia
• Annuals - Sunflower, tithonia, nasturtium, zinnia
• Water - Add a birdbath or small pond. Birds require water for drinking and bathing.
• Trees for shelter - Juniper, pine and spruce provide a home for birds to survive ever-changing weather patterns, a place to nest and protection from predators. The most common shelter is plant material which are evergreen in nature.

For more information: Click Gardening for the Birds

Author: Dennis Patton, Johnson County, MS County Extension Agent
Taken from www.johnson.ksu.edu January, February and March 2009