A garden is an attractive habitat for all kinds of living things
By: Michael Brown
Your garden is not only a place of beauty and a source of healthy food, it is an attractive habitat for all kinds of living things. One of the more interesting visitors to your garden will be the myriad birds that visit throughout the day to find food, water and shelter. From early morning until dusk your garden will be a hub of fascinating activity. The main benefit of attracting birds, besides the joy of watching them, is that they eat a large number of insects and weed seeds and thus contribute to the ecological balance of your garden.
Your garden is a part of the larger property in which it sits. If most of your yard is not very inviting to birds, then there will be limits on what you can expect from your small garden. For that reason, use your garden as one of the anchors for attracting birds, along with the general landscaping of your yard. Following are a number of things you can do in your garden to ensure a plentiful and varied company of feathered friends:
1. Enrich your soil. A fertile soil makes more robust plants and a greater diversity of life. An easy way to enrich your soil is through mulching. One of the most common things to use is grass clippings. The clippings create a favorable place for worms and insects and will improve the food supply for insect-eating birds.
2. Plant food for birds. Even if you have mostly vegetables in your garden, there is always room for a few flowers. Let those flowers do double duty as both a source of beauty for you and a source of food for the birds.
To do this you need to leave some flowers for the birds. The usual practice for maintaining vigorously blooming flowers is to cut them off as soon as they fade. However, this robs the birds of the tasty seeds that form after the flower blooms. Find a happy medium between having a supply of cut flowers and seeds for the birds.
Cosmos, zinnias, and sunflowers are some of the most popular and easiest flowers to grow in the garden. They also attract butterflies. All three are widely available in a variety of sizes, colors and flower types. Cosmos and zinnias are usually purchased as started plants; sunflowers are best started from seed. Consider the varieties with continuous multiple blooms instead of the single flower varieties.
3. Let nature take its course. Last year I had a major aphid infestation in a patch of cherry tomatoes. Some parts of the plants were literally covered with the little green guys. Yes, it did look kind of scary, and it probably did do some damage to the plants, but I didn’t do anything but watch the fascinating battle shape up.
Soon after the aphids established themselves I began to see ladybugs on the plants. More arrived every day. Soon I began to also see ladybug larvae, which themselves are great aphid eaters. In addition reinforcements came daily in the shape of various small birds that licked up the aphids with relish. Before I knew it, the aphids were gone and equilibrium had returned to the garden.
4. Provide a water source. Birds prefer a rough-bottomed (for sure footing), shallow pool of still water that gradually deepens to no more than 2-3 inches deep. Position the water source in an open sunny location so birds can keep an eye out for predators. A few rough stones placed in the middle of the pool can serve as convenient perches for some of the smaller birds.
If you want to get creative and add a sound component to your birdbath, you can suspend a large plastic jug above the water with a small hole that allows the water to drip into the bath. The sound will attract birds and help remind you to keep the water replenished.
These few simple steps will ensure that your garden site will become an attraction to birds and other wildlife and guarantee you hours of enjoyment.
To attract birds, there is much you can do in your general landscaping. Josh Goldman, naturalist at the Plainsboro Preserve, suggests planting a variety of native species in your landscape. These are plants that grow naturally in the area and therefore help preserve local New Jersey ecosystems. Some of the plants are:
Serviceberry. Early to leaf out in the spring. Birds use both the flowers and berries.
Viburnums. Good cover for birds as well as food in the form of flowers and berries.
Holly. Good cover and edible berries.
Dogwoods. Good cover and edible berries.
Red Cedar. Good cover and edible berries.
The Plainsboro Preserve staff can help you with additional information on native species that are good for birds and also make an attractive addition to your landscaping. Phone: (609) 897-9400. On the Web: www.njaudubon.org/Centers/Plainsboro/.

